An Arizona man, Murray Hooper, who was convicted of murdering two people in 1980 was put to death on Wednesday. The execution took place at 10:33 a.m. at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence.
Hooper was sentenced to death in 1983.
On December 31, 1980, William Bracy, Murray Hooper, and Edward McCall, a former Phoenix police officer, went to the home of Patrick Redmond in Phoenix. Redmond, his wife, Marilyn, and his mother-in-law, Helen Phelps, were preparing for a New Year’s Eve party when Bracy, Hooper, and McCall entered the house and forced the Redmonds and Phelps into the master bedroom at gunpoint. After taking jewelry and money, the intruders bound and gagged the victims. They shot each victim in the head and slashed Mr. Redmond’s throat. Mr. Redmond and Mrs. Phelps died from their wounds, but Mrs. Redmond survived and later identified all three killers.
Hooper, Bracy, and McCall were convicted of the murders and sentenced to death. Bracy and McCall died in prison before their sentences could be carried out.
Currently, there are 110 inmates on Arizona’s death row, and 21 have exhausted their appeals.