FLORENCE, Ariz. — Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced the execution of Frank Atwood Wednesday morning. The execution reportedly took place at 10:16 a.m. at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence.
Despite multiple hearings and appeals, Frank Atwood went on as planned June 8.
Atwood, 65, declined to choose an execution method, instead defaulting to lethal injection.
Brnovich, a vocal proponent of capital punishment in the state, announced in January he would be fast-tracking the execution of Atwood and the May execution of Clarence Dixon, the state's first execution in eight years.
“To an innocent child whose life was brutally taken and a family that has had to endure decades of suffering, Arizonans will never forget,” Brnovich said in a press release. “Today, we remember Vicki Lynne and stand together with her loved ones and the Tucson community as their unwavering quest for justice is finally realized.”
What was Atwood convicted of?
Atwood was handed a death sentence for the kidnapping and killing of an 8-year-old Pima County girl in 1984. He had been in prison since his first-degree murder conviction in 1987.
Investigators said Atwood, a native of Los Angeles, committed child sex crimes in California before violating his parole and moving to Arizona.
Atwood kidnapped Vicki Hoskinson while she rode her bike around her neighborhood, according to police. Atwood then fled to Texas until he was arrested and brought back to Arizona in connection to her disappearance.
Vicki’s skeletal remains were discovered in the desert near Tucson months later.
What does this mean?
Atwood is the second death row inmate set to be executed in Arizona in less than a month. Clarence Dixon was executed at the same facility on May 11. He was convicted for the murder of a 21-year-old ASU student.
The scheduled executions of both inmates come after an 8-year hiatus on executions in the state.
Before May, the last time an execution was carried out in Arizona was in 2014. Joseph Wood was sentenced to die for killing his girlfriend and her father, but his execution was described as “botched” by his lawyers.
The purported 10-minute execution process lasted nearly two hours, and witnesses say Woods gasped for air before dying.
Wood’s death spurred a review of the state’s execution procedure and rallied opponents of capitol punishment.
Read more
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12 News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.