Riley Noel was executed by the State of Arkansas for a triple murder
According to court documents Riley Noel and three accomplices would go to a home where Noel thought that the daughter had something to do with a drive by shooting that killed his brother.
Once inside of the home Riley Noel would shoot and kill: Marcell Young (17), Malak Hussian (10), and Mustafa Hussian (12)
Riley Noel would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Riley Noel would be executed by lethal injection on July 9 2003
Riley Noel Photos
Riley Noel FAQ
When Was Riley Noel Executed
Riley Noel was executed on July 9 2003
Riley Noel Case
Triple murderer Riley Dobi Noel proclaimed his love for his family and for Jesus on Wednesday night. Within minutes, Noel was dead. The 31-year-old Noel was executed just after 9 p.m. Wednesday in the death chamber of the state Department of Correction’s Cummins Unit. A lethal injection was administered into Noel’s veins at 9:01 p.m., and he was pronounced dead at 9:07 p.m.
Before he was executed, Noel gave a final statement. “I want my family to know I love them,” Noel said. “I want my kids to know I love Jesus.”
Among the witnesses to the execution was Kyle Jones, whose 17-year-old fiance/, Marcell Young, was among the victims. Young was slain along with her younger brother and sister in a southwest Little Rock home on June 4, 1995. Jones was in the house when the killings occurred but escaped by crawling through a window. “I finally feel that justice has been served,” Jones said after the execution. “It’s been eight long years, and I finally can put this behind me and move on. “We as individuals make decisions. He made the decision to take their lives. Today the state of Arkansas made the decision to take his life, and I’m glad for that decision.”
Kelly Kissel, The Associated Press’ Arkansas news editor, was one of three media witnesses to the execution. He said that within 20 seconds of the injection, Noel’s chest heaved “fairly violently.” Kissel added that Noel’s reaction to the injection was probably the most intense of the seven executions he has witnessed. “Within the first 20 seconds, it was clear that something was happening,” Kissel said. Kissel said Noel stared at the ceiling without blinking. “(He) died with his eyes open,” Kissel said.
The execution proceeded after Gov. Mike Huckabee refused to grant Noel clemency and the U.S. Supreme Court voted 7-2 to reject his appeal. Noel had asked the court to halt his execution on the basis of an alleged brain abnormality. On Tuesday night, the state Supreme Court denied Noel’s appeal for a stay of execution. Huckabee signed Noel’s death warrant in May, and the state parole board recommended in June that he not be granted clemency.
Noel’s day began at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. He met with his spiritual adviser and his attorneys, and was able to speak to family members on the telephone. Noel was served his final meal at 4 p.m. Wednesday in a cell adjacent to the execution chamber. He chose fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, hot rolls, a green garden salad with ranch dressing, Kool-Aid and cookies. Department of Correction spokeswoman Dina Tyler said Noel ate well. Noel also was visited by a prison chaplain, who described his spirits as “pretty good,” Tyler said. Noel took a shower and dressed in a clean prison uniform and socks before being taken to the death chamber at 8:45 p.m.
Noel became the 25th individual executed at Varner since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1990.
Prosecutors at Noel’s murder trial said he was seeking revenge against his victims’ sister, whom he mistakenly believed had arranged his brother’s gang-related murder. According to prosecutors, Noel lined up the victims — 10-year-old Malak Hussain, 12-year-old Mustafa Hussain and Young — on the kitchen floor and shot them in the head. At Noel’s trial, a co-defendant who reached a plea bargain with prosecutors said Noel initially intended to kill the entire family to avenge Ganaway’s death. Noel testified at the trial against his lawyers’ advice and denied killing the children. “I’m sitting here an innocent man for the three innocent kids I had no knowledge of,” Noel told the jury.
In his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, Noel’s attorney argued that medical tests that were not available when he was convicted in 1996 would reveal a brain abnormality that might have been viewed as a mitigating circumstance by the jurors who recommended the death penalty
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