Arizona executes Frank Atwood for 1984 murder of 8-year-old

Arizona executed Frank Atwood by lethal injection on Wednesday at the state prison in Florence, making him the second man executed by the state since 2014. 

Atwood, 66, was charged in 1987 for kidnapping and murdering eight-year-old Vicki Lynne Hoskinson. He was sedated at 10:10 a.m. and was pronounced dead at 10:17 a.m.

His attorneys had filed numerous challenges claiming that Atwood, who was in a wheelchair, suffered a spinal condition and restraining him for the execution would exacerbate his condition and cause him more pain. 

However, on Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Atwood’s request for a stay of execution. But they did agree to provide a device that would brace Atwood while he was on the gurney. 

The Arizona Department of Corrections also allowed Atwood to be visited and accompanied through the process by a priest after having converted to the Greek Orthodox Church in prison. 

"Thank you, precious father, for coming today and shepherding me into faith. I want to thank my beautiful wife, who has loved me with everything she has. I want to thank my friends and legal team, and most of all, Jesus Christ through this unfair judicial process that led to my salvation. I pray the Lord will have mercy on all of us and that the Lord will have mercy on me,” were Atwood’s final words according to the Arizona Department of Corrections Director Frank Strada.

Around 40 people witnessed the execution, including Atwood’s wife and Vicki’s mother. 

“Today marks final justice for our daughter Vicki Lynne. Our family has waited 37 years, eight months and 22 days for this day to come,” Debbie Carlson, Vicki Lynne's mother, said after the execution. “Vicki was a vibrant little girl with an infectious laugh and a smile that would melt your heart.”

Vicki went missing in 1984 after dropping off a birthday card in a mailbox. Her body was found in the desert in 1985. However, the cause of her death could not be determined, according to court records. 

Atwood is the second execution that the state of Arizona has performed since July 2014, when Joseph Wood was executed in an allegedly poorly executed process that took two hours. On May 11, the state of Arizona executed Clarence Dixon, convicted of killing a student in 1978.