*A Louisiana truck driver has become the 10th man to be executed by the U.S. government.
Alfred Bourgeois, 56, was sentenced to death in 2004 for sexually abusing and killing his 2-year-old daughter in Texas. He was executed at the Federal Correctional Center in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Friday, two days after the government executed Brandon Bernard.
Bourgeois’ lawyers has argued he deserved mercy due to his low IQ.
In his final statement on Friday, Bourgeois insisted on innocence, CNN reported. “I ask God to forgive all those who plotted and schemed against me, and planted false evidence,” he said. “I did not commit this crime.”
READ MORE: Before Leaving, Trump Will Execute Three More Prisoners … Sparking Controversy / WATCH
The depravity and evil of this admin’s race to murder as many people on death row as possible is shocking & inhumane.
We know how our carceral system works. The wealthy + privileged can buy freedom & leniency, the vulnerable are killed.
It must stop. Abolish the death penalty. https://t.co/shGOmtVDmr
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 12, 2020
“The depravity and evil of this admin’s race to murder as many people on death row as possible is shocking & inhumane,” wrote Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter, in response to Bourgeois’ case. “We know how our carceral system works. The wealthy + privileged can buy freedom & leniency, the vulnerable are killed. It must stop. Abolish the death penalty.”
Anti-death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean also spoke out about the case on Friday.
“The SCOTUS voted to allow the federal government to execute Alfred Bourgeois despite the fact that he is intellectually disabled with an IQ measured between 70-75,” Prejean wrote.
Bourgeois was the 10th death row inmate to be executed since Trump’s administration revived the death penalty after a 17-year hiatus. The decision was supported by the Department of Justice.
“The Department intended to resume executions in December 2019, however due to litigation, the process was suspended,” a spokeswoman told CNN on Friday. “Once the Supreme Court ruled in favor of resuming executions, the Department has proceeded each month — with the exception of October — since July 2020.”
Five Black men, including Bourgeois and Bernard, have been scheduled to die since Election Day. Six white men were executed over the summer. Three more executions are planned in January, prior to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
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