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ATMORE, Ala. — A Muslim inmate who filed a legal challenge
because Alabama wouldn't let his Islamic spiritual adviser be
present in the execution chamber was put to death Thursday after
the nation's highest court cleared the way.

Dominique Ray, 42, was pronounced dead at 10:12 p.m. of a lethal
injection at the state prison in Atmore.

Ray had argued Alabama's execution procedure favors Christian
inmates because a Christian chaplain employed by the prison
typically remains in the execution chamber during a lethal
injection, but the state would not let his imam be there in the
room.

Attorneys for the state said only prison employees are allowed
in the chamber for security reasons.

Ray's imam, Yusef Maisonet, watched the execution from an
adjoining witness room, after visiting with Ray over the past
two days. There was no Christian chaplain in the chamber, a
concession the state agreed to make.

Strapped to a gurney in the death chamber, Ray was asked by the
warden if he had any final words. The inmate said an Islamic
statement of his faith in Arabic. He then made a hand signal
consisting of a closed fist with his index finger pointed and
looked toward the execution viewing room, AL.com reported.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday had stayed
the execution over the religious arguments, but the U.S. Supreme
Court allowed it to proceed in a 5-4 decision Thursday evening.
Justices cited the fact that Ray did not raise the challenge
until Jan. 28 as a reason for the decision.

Justice Elena Kagan wrote in a dissent that she considered the
decision to let the execution go forward "profoundly wrong."

Other states generally allow spiritual advisers to accompany
condemned inmates up to the execution chamber but not into it,
said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty
Information Center, which studies capital punishment in the
United States.

Durham said did not know of any other state where the execution
protocol calls for a Christian chaplain to be present in the
execution chamber.

Alabama Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn said this is the
first time the state has had an objection to the chaplain's
presence. He said the state will review procedures to determine
if something needs to be changed.

Ray was sentenced to death for the 1995 rape and murder of a 15-
year-old girl. Tiffany Harville disappeared from her Selma home
on July 15, 1995, and her decomposing body was found one month
later in a cotton field.

It was Alabama's first execution of the year.

Ray was convicted in 1999 after another man, Marcus Owden,
confessed to his role in the crime and implicated Ray. Owden
told police that they had picked the girl up for a night out on
the town and then raped her. Owden said that Ray cut the girl's
throat. Owden pleaded guilty to murder, testified against Ray
and is serving a life sentence without parole.

A jury recommended the death penalty for Ray by an 11-1 vote. No representatives of Harville's family attended the execution,
according to AL.com.

Ray's attorneys had also asked in legal filings to stay the
execution on other grounds. Lawyers said it was not disclosed to
the defense team that records from a state psychiatric facility
suggested Owden suffered from schizophrenia and delusions. The
Supreme Court also rejected the request.

Spencer Hahn, one of Ray's attorneys, said he was appalled that
Ray received unequal treatment at his death because he was a
member of a religious minority,

"Domineque was a devout Muslim and a human being. He was a son,
a father, a brother. He wanted equal treatment in his last
moments," Hahn wrote in a statement.

Ray's legal team said his first name was Domineque. The prison
system used a different spelling, citing court records.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall issued a statement
saying he was pleased the court let the execution proceed.

"For 20 years, Domineque Ray has successfully eluded execution
for the barbaric murder of a 15-year-old Selma girl. ...Tonight,
Ray's long-delayed appointment with justice is finally met,"
Marshall said.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/alabama-executes-muslim-inmate-who- requested-imam-present
 

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