Daryl Holton

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Daryl Keith Holton (November 23, 1961 – September 12, 2007)^[1] was an American convicted child killer, executed by electrocution by the state of Tennessee on September 12, 2007 in Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

Holton, 45, was a Gulf War Veteran, who shot his three young sons and their half-sister (Stephen Edward Holton (12), Brent Holton (10), Eric Holton (6), and Kayla Marie Holton (4)) with a Russian SKS semi-automatic assault rifle on November 30, 1997. Holton told police he killed the children because his ex-wife would not let him see them. He also said he intended to kill his ex-wife and himself, but instead decided to turn himself in.^[2]^[3]

He made headlines when he chose to die in the electric chair, instead of lethal injection, which is the primary method of execution in Tennessee. He was the first person to be executed by this method in Tennessee in 47 years, and may well be the last person ever to die by this method. In Tennessee, an inmate has the option to choose electrocution if he/she was sentenced to die before the adoption of lethal injection.^[3]

This was the fourth execution in Tennessee since 2000 and first by the electric chair since 1960 (the last Pre-Furman execution). Holton was also the third death row inmate executed under administration of Governor Phil Bredesen.

He was also the first American put to death by electrocution since July 20, 2006. The last was Brandon Wayne Hedrick in Virginia, who also chose electrocution over injection.

Holton was a volunteer – a person who decided to drop all appeals in order to get an earlier date of execution.^[4] When he was asked about final words, he said: Two words, I do.^[5]

His case raised some controversies because of rumors about his history of mental illness.^[6] Execution of the mentally ill was prohibited by the U.S. Supreme Court Case Atkins v. Virginia.