A South Carolina de@th row inmate who shot a state trooper five times during a traffic stop, hijacked a truck while fleeing, and wounded another officer in the process has been ruled too mentally ill to be executed — because he genuinely believes he is immortal and has already died three times in prison.
John Richard Wood, 59, was convicted in 2002 for the December 2000 murder of State Trooper Eric Nicholson in Greenville County. He has spent the last 24 years on death row. But over those years, his mind has fractured in ways that even the experts found difficult to describe.
Wood believes he cannot die. He believes that if the state executes him, he will simply be resurrected. He believes he has been given wings. He believes he is a 300-year-old immortal fighting a cosmic battle against a deity called “Beloved Kevin Rudolph.” He believes the judge at his original trial was an agent working against him. He believes the governor has already pardoned him. He believes police framed him. He has been involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital four times in the last decade. A probate court assigned him a permanent legal guardian after declaring him incapacitated.
Three mental health experts — including the prosecution’s own psychiatrist — agreed he does not understand why he is being punished or what execution even means for him.
Judge Grace Knie ruled on April 29 that executing a man who believes death cannot touch him would violate the legal standard requiring a condemned person to understand the nature of their punishment. His death sentence still stands. His conviction still stands. But the execution is on hold, pending review by the South Carolina Supreme Court.
Eric Nicholson’s family has waited 25 years for justice. They are still waiting.