Amnesty International condemns 1,000th execution

AMNESTY International yesterday condemned as "absolutely shocking" the execution of the 1,000th prisoner in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

Kenneth Lee Boyd was executed in North Carolina early yesterday for the 1988 murder of his estranged wife Julie Curry Boyd, 36, and her father, 57-year-old Thomas Dillard Curry.

Amnesty's British director Kate Allen said: "It is absolutely shocking that the USA has executed its 1,000th prisoner in modern times - a shameful record that puts the USA in the same company as countries like China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam."

Ms Allen said the high crime rate in many states which carry the death penalty was proof that capital punishment is no proven deterrent.

"It is time to end the death penalty and to stop the killing," she said.

In a prison interview this week, Boyd said he wanted no part of the infamous numerical distinction of being the 1,000th prisoner executed.

"I'd hate to be remembered as that," he said. "I don't like the idea of being picked as a number."

Protesters gathered at Central Prison in Raleigh to mark the sombre milestone.

Police arrested 16 activists who sat down on the prison's four-lane drive.

But despite the toll, which was due to rise 1,001 last night with the scheduled execution of Shawn Humphries in South Carolina, death penalty opponents have expressed optimism that capital punishment is on the decline.