Gerald Bivins was executed by the State of Indiana for the murder of Reverend Radcliffe
According to court documents Gerald Bivins would rob Reverend Radcliffe at a rest area washroom and then would fatally shoot him. Bivins would tell police he wanted to know what it felt like to kill
Gerald Bivins would be arrested, convicted and sentence to death
Gerald Bivins was executed on March 14 2001 by lethal injection
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When Was Gerald Bivins Executed
Gerald Bivins was executed on March 14 2001
Gerald Bivins Case
Gerald Bivins, convicted of killing a minister in a highway rest stop robbery, drew closer to his state execution early Wednesday preferring death over appealing his case further.With three levels of federal appeals unexhausted, Bivins, 41, was scheduled to die by lethal injection at the state prison shortly after 1 a.m. EST in Indiana\’s eighth execution since 1981.
He was condemned for killing the Rev. William Radcliffe at a rest stop along Interstate 65 north of Indianapolis on Jan. 16, 1991.Bivins, during a news conference last week, said he did not believe his decision to abandon remaining appeals would hurt the efforts of those working against the death penalty.”I\’ve heard that argument, but I don\’t buy that,” Bivins said. “Somebody can fight their case if they want to and they can string it out as long as they want to.”Authorities have called Radcliff\’s murder a thrill killing, but Bivins said he killed the minister only because the victim had recognized him during the robbery.”I\’m not trying to excuse it. Honestly, I don\’t think that makes it any better than one who did it to see what it feels like,” Bivins said.
During a Statehouse news conference Tuesday, death penalty opponents urged Gov. Frank O\’Bannon to commute Bivins\’ sentence to life in prison. They questioned the governor\’s decision to allow the execution while a blue-ribbon commission studies the fairness of Indiana\’s death penalty.”Further killing only undermines the humanity and dignity of all Indiana citizens,” said Karen Burkhart of Amnesty International.O\’Bannon said he would not intervene in the case because Bivins had abandoned his appeals and because members of the commission have not discovered any problems with the death penalty. The commission\’s report is due this summer.
Bivins invited 10 witnesses, the most allowed under Indiana law, to view the execution. He said they were family and friends. He said his mother, who was to prepare his last meal of chicken dumplings and German ravioli, would not be a witness.Radcliffe\’s widow, Karen Radcliffe, of West Lafayette, also was not among the witnesses. She said in a statement last week that she hoped Bivins could find God\’s peace and love.Church groups and other death penalty opponents held protests in northern Indiana over the past several days. They planned to hold a vigil outside the prison Tuesday night.
At his news conference Thursday, Bivins criticized such groups, saying they wait until an execution is imminent to get involved.”There\’s people back on death row right now that\’s never had a friend and never gets visits. These people want to stand out in front of this prison and light a candle and talk about they care and burn a candle on the night a person gets executed. But if they really cared they\’d make an overture and try to develop a friendship with somebody on death row and show them they really do care,” Bivins said.Forty-one other prisoners currently are on Indiana\’s death row
https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/2001/03/14/bivins-heads-to-lethal-injectio/118571844/
