Alabama Executes Man Convicted in Killing of Georgia Girl, 5

A man convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing a 5-year-old girl from Georgia was put to death Thursday night in Alabama. Jeremy Williams, 40, was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. CDT after receiving a lethal injection, according to the Associated Press. He had been sentenced to death on four counts of capital murder in the 2021 killing of Kamarie Holland. The girl was reported missing by her mother, Kristy Siple, on Dec. 13, 2021. Investigators later determined that Siple had trafficked her daughter to Williams for money. Prosecutors said Williams sexually assaulted the child before strangling her. Williams pleaded guilty to the charges, but Alabama law still required a jury trial in death penalty cases. Jurors deliberated for about 90 minutes in 2024 before convicting him on all counts. At his sentencing that year, Kamarie's father delivered a victim impact statement, telling Williams he did not deserve to live or to see his own children again, according to WTVM. Williams had spent roughly two years on death row before his execution was carried out under the governor's order, with the process beginning at 6 p.m. local time. Kamarie Holland was from Georgia; the crime and legal proceedings took place in Russell County, Alabama.