Execution Stayed for South Carolina Prisoner with Immortality Belief
by Michael Dean Thompson
A South Carolina court stayed the execution of condemned state prisoner John Richard Wood on April 22, 2026. Wood, 59, has been on death row in South Carolina for 24 years following his conviction for the murder of a state trooper during a traffic stop. His schizophrenia, for which he has refused to medicate, has debilitated him; Wood believes he has already died three times on death row and will be resurrected again should executioners try another time.
A psychiatrist working for the prosecution joined with a psychiatrist and psychologist for the defense in telling the court that Wood failed the two-prong legal standard in the state for competence to be executed. According to the experts, it is very difficult to have a rational conversation with Wood, whose condition has worsened and will likely never be restored to competence. Due to a 1993 South Carolina Supreme Court decision, he also cannot be forced to take medications just to give the state the opportunity to execute him. See: Singleton v. State, 437 S.E.2d 53 (S.C. 1993).
Wood is certain that his death sentence is the result of law enforcement officers trying to frame him for a brutal rape rather than for the murder of a state trooper. Furthermore, he believes the judge in his case, who is now Chief Justice John Kittredge, and other courtroom officials are agents of a deity named “Beloved Kevin Rudolph” and are battling to rule the planet. In order to win the battle for them, Wood says he was given wings and immortality.
The prosecution has asked the court to order the state Department of Corrections (DOC) and Wood’s court-appointed guardian to provide them with periodic updates on Wood’s mental status. The judge denied the request. Instead, the legal guardian offered to provide the updates. Meanwhile, the case is headed to the state Supreme Court for review.
Since the 2024 resumption of capital punishment in the state, seven people have been put to death. Three of the seven died by firing squad, an option available alongside lethal injection by drugs whose makeup is kept secret. Either method may be selected over the default electric chair. Twenty-three more condemned South Carolina prisoners await their death warrants, though one of them is currently in prison in California for a separate murder.
Additional source: South Carolina Daily Gazette
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