Alabama inmate Keith Edmund Gavin to be 3rd inmate executed in state in 2024. What to know

Alabama is set to execute a Chicago man in the shooting death of a 68-year-old father of seven on Thursday, which would make him the third inmate put to death by the state this year and the 10th in the country.

Keith Edmund Gavin, 64, is scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. CT at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. Marty Roney, a reporter with the Montgomery Advertiser − part of the USA TODAY Network − is set to be among the execution witnesses acting as a watchdog over the process.

Gavin was convicted in the 1998 shooting death of William Clinton Clayton Jr., described by his youngest son as a hard-working dad and a "gentle giant" in an interview with USA TODAY this week.

Here's what you need to know about Gavin's case, who Clayton was and other details of the execution.

Who is Keith Edmund Gavin?

Gavin was one of 12 siblings growing up in the housing projects of Chicago and coming from a line of "multi-generational family dysfunction," which included a father who would beat up his wife and children with extension cords, sticks, hoses and fists, according to federal appellate court documents filed in 2016.

Gavin did not graduate high school but got his GED while he was incarcerated for a 1982 murder. He got out on parole in 1997 and was "unemployed, depressed and his family was destitute," the records say.

Most of his siblings were into drugs, gangs or other criminal activity, including his brother, who shot two gang members a day after they beat Gavin with baseball bats and guns when he was 17, the records say.

What was Keith Edmund Gavin convicted of?

On March 6, 1998, William "Bill" Clayton was gearing up to take his wife of 38 years out to dinner. He stopped to get some money from the ATM at Regions Bank in the northeastern Alabama city of Centre, about 85 miles northeast of Birmingham.

Meanwhile, Gavin had driven to the region from Chicago with his cousin, Dewayne Meeks, to track down a woman Gavin had met in the past. Gavin and Meeks arrived in downtown Centre just as Clayton went to the ATM, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY.

While the men were stopped at an intersection near Regions Bank, Meeks testified in court that Gavin got out of the car, walked up to the driver's side of Clayton's van and fired two shots. Meeks then drove off in his car, while Gavin got in Clayton's van − with Clayton still in it and bleeding out − and followed Meeks, court records say.

A police pursuit of the van followed that ended with Gavin's capture in the woods and the nearby discovery of the murder weapon, a 40-caliber Glock pistol. An officer found Clayton "barely alive" in the van and he was pronounced dead shortly after at a hospital.

Meeks was arrested weeks later in Chicago on a murder charge in the case but it was later dropped. Gavin's conviction was partially based on Meeks' testimony.

Gavin has always maintained that he wasn't the one who shot Clayton and has appealed his conviction and death sentence.

Who was William Clinton Clayton, Jr.?

Clayton was a native of Clay, Alabama. At 6 feet, 6 inches tall and 280 pounds, he was "quite a large man" but also "a bit of a gentle giant" who worked hard to provide for his family, his son, Matt Clayton recalled in an interview with USA TODAY.

"He worked about 14 hours a day, usually from 5 o'clock in the morning until 8 o'clock at night, Monday through Friday," said Matt Clayton, who was 28 when his father was killed. "He would work about a 10-hour day on Saturday. Really work was all that the man knew."

Matt Clayton said his mother, who is now 94 years old, lives independently and is "very healthy and very vibrant."

"It's truly been a blessing to have her around for so much of my life, particularly since my father was gone at a younger age," he said.

He said his family has "long forgiven" Clayton, saying he was "born in poverty and ... raised in a crime-infested environment."

"I think that Mr. Gavin may have been indoctrinated into gang violence at an early age, as many young people are who lacked strong male role models," he said. "It's truly sad to think about this person."

Keith Edmund Gavin now practices the Islamic faith

Since being incarcerated, Gavin is now Muslim and practices the Islamic faith, according to the lawsuit filed by his attorneys asking that Alabama not perform on autopsy on Gavin after the execution.

“His religion teaches that the human body is a sacred temple, which must be kept whole," the lawsuit says. "Mr. Gavin sincerely believes that an autopsy would desecrate his body and violate the sanctity of keeping his human body intact."

Alabama agreed to forgo the autopsy, the Montgomery Advertiser reported.

When and where will Keith Edmund Gavin be executed?

Gavin will be executed at 6 p.m. CT Thursday in the death chamber at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama, about 120 southwest of Montgomery.

What will be Keith Edmund Gavin's last meal?

The Alabama Department of Corrections will release what Gavin's last meal was at about 4 p.m. on execution day.

Who will witness Keith Edmund Gavin's execution?

The Alabama Department of Corrections will release the general witness list on the night of the execution, but Matt Clayton told USA TODAY that he will be in attendance.

Clayton said he is going to "represent his family" and recognize the efforts by the state officials who "brought Mr. Gavin to justice."

"No one wants to view an execution, so let's be clear about that," he said. "However, I cannot choose to not attend given the work that has been put forth."

It is unclear if Gavin's attorney will be at the execution. USA TODAY attempted to contact his legal counsel multiple times but did not receive a response.

Members of the media will be at the execution, including:

• CBS42
• The Associated Press
• AL.com
• The Montgomery Advertiser
• WBRC/Fox 6 News

When is the nation's next execution?

Gavin's execution comes just two days after the U.S. Supreme Court halted the Texas execution of Ruben Gutierrez in the 1998 murder of an 85-year-old retired schoolteacher. The high court ruled Tuesday that a lower court must look at Gutierrez's arguments for DNA testing before his execution can be scheduled, if at all.

Gavin will be the 10th inmate executed in the nation this year if his execution goes as planned Thursday evening.

The next execution is scheduled for Aug. 7, when Texas is expected to execute Arthur Lee Burton for the 1997 rape and killing of Nancy Adleman, a Houston woman found dead after never returning home from a jog.