Brandon Hedrick was executed by the State of Virginia for the murder of Lisa Crider
According to court documents Brandon Hedrick and Trevor Jones would abduct Lisa Crider who would be sexually assaulted and fatally shot. Lisa Crider would have duct tape wrapped around her face and wrists
Brandon Hedrick would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Brandon Hedrick would be executed by way of the electric chair on July 20 2006
Brandon Hedrick Photos
Brandon Hedrick FAQ
When Was Brandon Hedrick Executed
Brandon Hedrick was executed on July 20 2006
Brandon Hedrick Case
Brandon Wayne Hedrick was executed in Virginia’s electric chair last night for the 1997 slaying of a 23year-old Lynchburg woman.
Hedrick, 27, was pronounced dead at 9:12 p.m. in the execution chamber at the Greensville Correctional Center, said Larry Traylor, Virginia Department of Corrections spokesman. Asked if he would like to make a last statement, Hedrick said: “I pray for everybody that believes in Jesus Christ in heaven, and I pray for the people that are unsaved that they will accept Christ because they know not what they do and will accept Christ one day. I am ready to go and be free.”
Hedrick was the first person electrocuted in the United States in more than two years, and the first in three years in Virginia. Only four of 72 Virginia killers have chosen the chair since Jan. 1, 1995, when they were given the option of injection. The electrocution for the murder of Lisa Crider — the mother of a 5-year-old boy and slain on Mother’s Day — was performed without complication. Earlier the U.S. Supreme Court turned down Hedrick’s bid for a stay and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said he reviewed a clemency request and found no reason to intervene.
Hedrick may have chosen electrocution, his lawyer said, because of concerns about pain accompanying lethal injection.
Shortly before 9 p.m., Hedrick, his head freshly shaved, was led into the execution chamber. He appeared calm, wearing dark-blue prison pants with the right leg cut off at the knee and a light-blue shirt with the sleeves cut off. He was ushered into the electric chair and a half-dozen execution team members secured him stiffly upright with leather and nylon straps on his limbs and torso before asking if he had any last words.
A metal device holding a sea sponge soaked in brine was then attached to his right calf, and a wide strap with a hole for his nose but covering his eyes and mouth secured his head to the chair. A metal cap holding another brine-soaked sponge was strapped on the top of his head. Power cables were then connected to the head and leg.
A prison official turned a key on the wall activating the system and an execution team member viewing the chair through a one-way window pressed the execution button.
It was about 9:02 p.m. when Hedrick’s body jumped up straight, straining against the straps, his fists clenched. A small amount of smoke briefly rose from his leg. His body briefly relaxed between the two 90-second cycles of electricity. Each cycle starts with about 1,800 volts at 7.5 amps for 30 seconds and then 60 seconds of about 240 volts at 1.5 amps. His body jumped and leg smoked at the start of the second cycle. After five minutes, a physician entered, put a stethoscope to Hedrick’s chest and pronounced him dead.
The electrocution capped the events of May 11, 1997, when Crider was slain at the end of a nightmarish ordeal. Crider was abducted about 1 a.m. by Hedrick and a friend, Trevor Jones. The two were high on bourbon, marijuana and crack cocaine. Crider was abducted from Jones’ apartment, robbed, put in Jones’ truck and driven around before she was raped and then shot to death at short range with a shotgun near the James River in Appomattox County. Hedrick confessed to pulling the trigger. Jones, 28, was sentenced to life in prison.
In their appeal and clemency petition, Hedrick’s lawyers contended, among other things, that he may have been retarded and that he received incompetent representation from his trial lawyers. Rob Lee, one of Hedrick’s lawyers, said he did not believe Hedrick was trying to make a statement by choosing electrocution. “It’s not like there was one rational reason,” he said. Lee said he believes Hedrick made the choice, at least in part, because he feared pain from lethal injection.
Michael Lenz, 42, set to be executed by injection next Thursday, has a complaint pending in federal court alleging the way Virginia conducts injection violates his rights.
About eight protesters gathered outside the correctional center before the execution. Many were with Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. Katie Norberg said she had been a pen pal of Hedrick for more than six years, since she had been a student at Alexandria’s West Potomac High School. “I really believe he is a good person. Nothing malicious about him,” she said. Inside, unidentified members of Crider’s family were among the witnesses.
Crider’s mother, Dale Alexander of Altavista, said Wednesday that her daughter “is still with us. . . . I know very well what’s happened, I accept that. But I see all kinds of signs, all kinds of message from her.” “It gives me a lot of peace of mind,” she said.
