S.C. Man Becomes 1,001st Executed

A man was put to death Friday for the 1994 murder of a store clerk, becoming the 1,001st person executed in the United States since capital punishment resumed 28 years ago.

Shawn Humphries, 34, mouthed "I'm sorry" to his victim's two sisters before fatal chemicals were pumped into his veins. One of the sister nodded in response. It appeared that a tear rolled down Humphries' cheek after the exchange.

His death came about 16 hours after North Carolina executed Kenneth Lee Boyd, the 1,000th person to receive capital punishment since 1977, a year after the Supreme Court ruled that it could resume.

Boyd, who gunned down his estranged wife and father-in-law, did not want the numerical distinction. But Humphries' attorney said he had told her "he would rather be 1,000 because if he has to die, No. 1,000 will be remembered. No. 1,001 won't."

Humphries was convicted for the shooting death of Mendal Alton "Dickie" Smith on New Year's Day 1994. Prosecutors said Humphries and a friend decided to rob the Simpsonville store where Smith was working after they drank beer all day.

Humphries' attorney Teresa Norris read a handwritten statement from the death chamber in which Humphries apologized for the killing and criticized the death penalty.

"We are all sinners, so what gives you the right as a sinner to take away a gift that God gave," the statement said in part.

Smith's sister Kathy Smith Carpenter said she appreciated the apology.

"Shawn gave me something very special tonight when he said to me through the window that he was sorry," Carpenter said. "That was the greatest gift that I could have ever received."

Shortly before the execution, the victim's widow, Patricia Smith, looked toward other family members and whispered "I can't do it," and walked out of the viewing area.

Surveillance tape at Humphries' trial showed him entering the store and flashing a gun at Smith. When the clerk reached under the counter, Humphries fired a shot and ran away. Smith was struck once in the head.

The friend stayed in the store and told police what happened, according to testimony. He is serving a life sentence.

Executions were carried out in 25 nations in 2004, according to the human rights group Amnesty International, which opposes the death penalty and rallied against it in cities around the world earlier this week.

In 2004, 97 percent of all executions were performed in just four countries: China, Iran, Vietnam and the U.S., with the majority of those coming in China.

Capital punishment, according to Amnesty International, is illegal in 86 countries and rarely imposed in another 25 countries, and is still used in 85 countries, although in 11 of those nations it is limited to "exceptional crimes" such as war crimes.