Alabama Executed Keith Gavin on July 18, 2024

Updated: Thursday, July 18, 2024

On Thursday, July 18, 2024, Keith Gavin was executed by the state of Alabama.  He was pronounced dead at 6:32 pm local time inside the execution chamber at the Holeman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama.  Keith was 64 years of age.  He was executed for the murder of William Clinton Clayton, Jr., on March 6, 1998, in Cherokee County, Alabama. Keith spent the last 24 years of his life on Alabama’s death row.

Keith grew up in a house project in Chicago, Illinois.  He did not graduate high school, however, he earned his GED while in prison for a previous murder.   Keith was released just a few months before March 1998, after serving 17 years out of his 34-year sentence.

William Clayton worked as a contract courier for Corporate Express Delivery Systems Inc.  Shortly after 6:30 pm on March 6, 1998, William was sitting inside a Corporate Express van.  He had finished his shift and was outside the Regions Bank, where he had stopped to withdraw money from the ATM so he could take his wife out to dinner.  While sitting in the van, he was shot and killed.  

Four people witnessed the crime.  Two of the witnesses were sitting at a traffic light when they heard the shooting.  They immediately fled upon hearing gunfire and were unable to identify the shooter.  A third witness was also sitting at a traffic light.  During the trial, he identified the shooter as Gavin, saying he saw Gavin get into the Corporate Express van and drive off.  

The fourth witness was Dewayne Meeks, who worked for the Illinois Department of Corrections and was Gavin’s cousin.  Dewayne testified that he, his family, and Gavin drove from their homes in Chicago, Illinois to Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Gavin wanted to meet up with a woman he had met on a previous trip. After several unsuccessful attempts to locate the woman, Dewayne and Gavin ended up in the area of Regions Bank in Alabama.  

Dewayne watched Gavin approach a van, believing he was going to ask for directions.  When Dewayne looked up again, he saw Gavin pointing a gun at the driver, with the driver’s door open.  Dewayne saw Gavin fire two shots and then immediately fled the area.  Gavin got into the van and began following him.  Gavin attempted to get Dewayne to stop, however, Dewayne was fearful and kept driving.  Dewayne went back to the hotel, told his wife what happened, and immediately returned to Chicago.  

Upon his return, Dewayne told several friends in law enforcement about the shooting and realized that Gavin had likely used the weapon issued to him by the Illinois Department of Corrections.  Dewayne’s gun had been missing for about two weeks before the shooting.  Dewayne also informed his boss about his suspicions regarding his weapon.  

An investigator with the District Attorney’s Office for the Ninth Judicial Circuit also testified at Gavin’s trial.  The investigator heard the shooting over the radio and soon saw a van matching the description of the one that fled the scene.  He followed the van, noting that it was driving erratically at about 75 miles per hour.  The van eventually stopped and the driver fired a shot at the investigator and fled into the nearby woods.  The investigator identified Gavin at the trial.  Instead of pursuing Gavin into the woods, he checked on the victim, who was barely alive.  

Police arrived at the van shortly after Gavin fled, as the investigator had contacted them.  The police secured the woods so that no one could enter or leave without being seen.  A dog was brought in to track Gavin’s scent through the woods and Gavin was quickly located.  He attempted to flee but was soon arrested.  A few days later, Dewayne’s missing weapon was located in the woods near where Gavin was arrested.

A jury found Gavin guilty and by a vote of 10-2, and recommended he be sentenced to death.

Please pray for peace for the family of William Clayton.  Pray for strength for the family of Keith Gavin.