BRAMBLETT FIRST EXECUTION THIS YEAR

On April 9, Earl Bramblett became the first person executed in Virginia this year.  He was sentenced to death for the 1994 deaths of Blaine, Teresa, Winter, and Anah Hodges.  Key testimony was provided by a jailhouse snitch, who had something to gain for himself by testifying against Bramblett.  There were also many questions about state and prosecutorial misconduct, incompetent trial counsel, and inaccurate expert testimony.  Many people think that Virginia may have executed an innocent man on April 9.

Bramblett, a friend of the Hodges family for many years before the tragedy, had consistently maintained his innocence.  He chose the electric chair rather than lethal injection to protest his conviction.  “I’ve never murdered anybody.  I’m going to my death with a clear conscience,” Bramblett said before he was electrocuted. 

Bramblett was the 88th person executed in Virginia since reinstatement of the death penalty in 1977.