Jeffrey Borden was schedule for execution later this year, but authorities say the Alabama death row inmate took matters into his own hands over the weekend.
The state’s Department of Corrections announced on Sunday that the 57-year-old inmate was found dead in his jail cell of an apparent suicide. As Al.com reported, Borden was found hanging by a bed sheet during a security check at 2:30 a.m. Medical officials responded and he was brought to a hospital, but Borden was declared dead close to 12 hours later.
Borden had been convicted of killing his estranged wife and her father while he was returning their children after an outing. The killings took place on Christmas Eve, in view of the couple’s children.
Borden was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1995, with the jury recommending execution by a 10-to-2 vote.
Though Jeffrey Borden was scheduled for execution in October, a federal attorney who represented the man said there were other factors in his suicide including a chronic health condition. He laid some of the blame on the prison, saying that Borden did not receive proper treatment.
“We are saddened to hear of Mr. Borden’s apparent suicide,” a spokesperson said. “Mr. Borden suffered from severe mental illness and chronic physical pain, both of which were undertreated by the Department of Corrections despite their knowledge of these issues. We hope that the conditions that led to underfunding and understaffing of the Department, and thus contributed to Mr. Borden’s death, will be remedied.”
Borden was scheduled to be put to death in October of last year, but a federal judge halted the execution just hours before it was set to take place. As WHNT reported, the state did not appeal the decision and the execution was moved back by one year.
“The Alabama attorney general’s office said it would not appeal the stay,” the report noted. “The attorney general said there was ‘insufficient time to lift the stay’ before the death warrant expired at midnight.”
Borden’s scheduling for execution came along with two other inmates, Doyle Lee Hamm and Torrey Twane McNabb. As Al.com noted, McNabb was executed on the scheduled date in October and Hamm was scheduled for February, but it was postponed after officials in the prison had difficulty preparing him for lethal injection.
Authorities said Jeffrey Borden’s remains have been turned over to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. It was unclear what plans were made for his burial.
