Death Row Prisoner Claims To Have ‘Wings’ And Believes To Be Immortal, Spared From Conviction

The South Carolina Department of Corrections could not execute a death row inmate after he made claims of resurrection. The inmate has been deemed mentally incompetent to face execution.

As mental health experts weigh in on the inmate’s behavior, the final decision on his execution remains in the balance. The judge’s ruling will go to the South Carolina Supreme Court, where the final verdict will be delivered.

Fifty-six-year-old John Richard Wood had been behind bars for more than 25 years after he was convicted of killing a South Carolina state trooper. He shot and killed the victim, Eric Nicholson, during a traffic stop in December 2000.

After the crime, he tried to flee and avoid arrest. During that time, he shot at other law enforcement officers and wounded one of them. However, authorities were eventually able to capture him and place him behind bars.

Owing to the nature of his crime, the court sentenced Wood to death by lethal injection. However, just days before the scheduled execution, the inmate began showing signs of mental instability.

Judges said Wood believes he would be resurrected the moment the state carries out his execution. He also made the false claim that the governor had already granted him a pardon, which would prevent the execution from taking place.

According to court documents, Wood made bizarre claims during his 2002 trial about working as an agent for Beloved Kevin Rudolph. This deity, according to him, is engaged in a war with the world to gain complete control. The death row inmate also told the court that he believes he has wings and has been gifted with immortality to win the case against him.

While his inconsistent statements clearly indicate that Wood is not in the right frame of mind, he has also misunderstood the charges against him. The court stated that while he understands why he received the death sentence, he still believes police were trying to frame him for sexual abuse.

In fact, the inmate also believes he has already been executed three times and would miraculously resurrect each time. Given the nature of his statements, judges have paused his scheduled execution because Wood does not appear mentally competent.

The court has confirmed that Wood suffers from schizophrenia and is mentally unfit to understand the gravity of his execution. Three mental health experts retained by the defense claimed that the man failed the state’s two-pronged legal standard regarding competency for execution.

Wood, who is the first South Carolina inmate to have his execution paused, has also been unable to communicate rationally with his attorneys. As a result, while the temporary ruling does not remove his death sentence completely, it will not be carried out at this time.