Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

Arkansas Death Row Inmate Gets Surprising Parting Gift From Victims’ Family

Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
Share Tweet
By Stephanie Parker
Editor

May 2, 2017

Arkansas death row inmate Kenneth Williams was given a lethal injection last week, and was dead within in a matter of minutes. He was, however, able to say his final good-byes in person to his daughter and granddaughter, thanks to an unlikely source.

READ: Church Groups Respond to the Opioid Crisis Striking Rural America

They were not expecting to see Williams in his final hours alive because they couldn’t afford to make the trip, even after they tried to raise money via GoFundMe, an open letter shared by The Guardian stated.

They assumed no one wanted to help them, given that their loved one was a murderer and not exactly a sympathetic figure sure to draw in lots of donations. There was, however, one generous donor who was able to step in and make it happen: Kayla Greenwood.

She understands what it’s like to lose a loved one, because Kenneth Williams killed her dad, Michael Greenwood.

Incredibly, Kayla was able to lay aside bitterness and hatred, and show compassion in what had to be an incredibly tough situation.

The family of Michael Greenwood, a man who was killed by Kenneth Williams in 1999, shows us the way: healing through love, not more killing.

— Sister Helen Prejean (@helenprejean) April 28, 2017

Not only did she help to offer closure, the grieving daughter took it a step further and pleaded for Williams’ life to be spared. She wrote a letter addressed to the governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchison, but the clemency request was denied and he was sent to the execution chamber.

On the day of the execution, just a couple of weeks after she sent the letter, Greenwood said about her meeting with Johnson and her 3-year-old daughter that, “It’s like I’m meeting a sister that I never knew I had this whole time, somebody that knows how I feel.”

“I just want to have the right words to say for Jasmine to support her, to help her.”

The family of a victim of #KennethWilliams wrote a letter to @AsaHutchinson asking to spare Williams' life. #ARexecutions pic.twitter.com/N7yJ5DA5BI

— David Lippman THV11 (@david_lippman) April 27, 2017

Johnson was moved by the forgiveness, saying “I was in shock” and “I was shaking.”

For her part, Greenwood wanted to demonstrate that people can have unconditional love for one another no matter how difficult the circumstances. Even “A stranger that’s never met you can bring a beautiful thing out of any situation.”

READ: Victim’s Mother Forgives Charleston Church Shooter Dylann Roof During Sentencing Hearing

Williams was the fourth convicted killer executed in Arkansas due to the state’s compressed lethal injection timeline. According to multiple sources, the state “sought to carry out” as many lethal injection executions as possible before the drugs expired this past Sunday.

In 2005, Williams admitted in a handwritten letter to The Pine Bluff Commercial, that he finally had an answer to his decision to murder four innocent people in the southern state.

He shared that, “When you live a sinful life away from God, anything is possible. That includes mass murder. Learn from my mistakes,” the Daily Beast reported earlier this month.

AR Sup. Ct. denied 4 #ARexectuions stays for Kenneth Williams. Case count: @AGRutledge still responding to 3 Eighth COA, 2 #SCOTUS, 1 Cir. pic.twitter.com/gQD184wUlR

— Marci Manley (@Marci_Manley) April 27, 2017

Williams also explained in the same letter, that in prison he found God and became an ordained minister. Earlier this month, Williams gave an hour long speech filled with scripture and his new passion for Christ.

—
Other Must-Read Stories:

– Dylan Roof Sentenced to Death for Charleston Church Shooting

– ‘Our Silence Could Be Their Death’ – Sudanese Pastors Arrested for Their Faith Need Help

– Clock Is Ticking as Sudanese Christian Pastor Could Be Put to Death for His Faith

Latest

  • Faith

    Weatherman Reveals Why He Prayed to Jesus On-Air as Deadly Tornado Hit: ‘God Helps People’

  • News

    ‘I Am Beyond Grateful’: Liberty University Names New President in Wake of Jerry Falwell Scandal

  • Faith

    EXCLUSIVE: Famous Activist Prays For Mass ‘Exodus’ of Clinic Workers With Launch of Powerful Good Friday Campaign

  • News

    Actor Mark Wahlberg Reveals Why He Moved Family Out of Hollywood: ‘It’s Really Giving the Kids a Chance to Thrive’

  • News

    Good Samaritan Spots Smoke Coming From Home, Immediately Jumps Into Action to Save Woman and Her Dog


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Weatherman Reveals Why He Prayed to Jesus On-Air as Deadly Tornado Hit: ‘God Helps People’
  • ‘I Am Beyond Grateful’: Liberty University Names New President in Wake of Jerry Falwell Scandal
  • EXCLUSIVE: Famous Activist Prays For Mass ‘Exodus’ of Clinic Workers With Launch of Powerful Good Friday Campaign
  • Actor Mark Wahlberg Reveals Why He Moved Family Out of Hollywood: ‘It’s Really Giving the Kids a Chance to Thrive’
  • Good Samaritan Spots Smoke Coming From Home, Immediately Jumps Into Action to Save Woman and Her Dog

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • Culture
  • culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?