“One thing is certain, however,” said Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. “Wood died in a lawful manner and by eyewitness and medical accounts he did not suffer. This is in stark comparison to the gruesome, vicious suffering that he inflicted on his two victims – and the lifetime of suffering he has caused their family.”
At 3:49 p.m. (MST), Joseph Rudolph Wood was pronounced dead. He had just been executed by the state of Arizona for the murder of his ex-girlfriend and her father in their auto-repair shop. While many are up in arms about the timeline of Wood’s execution, they’re forgetting that he was a brutal and virulent man who took the lives of innocent people.
According to witness accounts and reports, Wood’s and Debbie Dietz had a violent relationship. Debbie was regularly the victim of assault from Wood’s. Debbie’s father, Gene Dietz, disapproved of the relationship. Debbie sought and obtained an order of protection order to keep Wood’s away after having tried to remove herself from the abusive situation.
On the day Wood’s committed his crime, Gene and Debbie were at their auto shop. Wood’s arrived, armed, and entered Gene’s office where he was on the phone. He then waited for Gene to end his call. Once Gene was off the phone, Wood’s drew his gun, shot him in the chest and smiled.
As Gene was dying from Wood’s shot, he turned to Debbie who was desperately trying to call for help. He took her by the throat and shoved his gun into her chest. She begged him to spare her life. According to a witness, Wood said to Debbie, “I told you I was going to do it. I have to kill you.”
He then called her an expletive, according to CBS/AP, and fired two shots into her chest.
Wood’s execution took nearly two hours and during that time Wood’s reportedly continuously gasped for air. Because of that, people are calling the execution cruel and unusual, asking that Arizona and the Supreme Court review the practice of execution as they suspect it is unconstitutional.
But let’s not forget that Wood’s was not some petty criminal. He was a violent and vicious man. While medical reports and witnesses claim that he didn’t suffer, one thing is certain: his victims did.