Man executed in Virginia

AN American who pleaded guilty to killing three neighbours in a long-running dispute over a shared driveway was executed in Jarratt, Virginia.

James Bryant Hudson, 57, died by lethal injection at the Greensville Correctional Centre. When asked if he had any final words, Hudson said in a clear voice, “No sir”.

Hudson pleaded guilty to shooting brothers Walter Stanley Cole, 56, and Thomas Wesley Cole, 64, and Wesley’s wife, Patsy Ayers Cole, 64, outside their Halifax County home in July 2002.

The dispute began after Hudson’s father sold land to the Coles. Hudson maintained the right to use a road that ran through the Coles’ property to get to his home, but complained the Coles were not taking care of it.