Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
A convicted felon in Tennessee has been put to death almost 40 years after the murder of a 20-year-old university student - but not before he shared some haunting last words.
Harold Wayne Nichols spent 35 years on death row after being sentenced in 1990 for the rape and murder of Chattanooga State University.student Karen Pulley two years earlier.
Over the decades since his sentencing, his lawyers attempted to have his death sentence commuted to life in prison, noting he 'would be the first person to be executed for a crime he pleaded guilty to since Tennessee re-enacted the death penalty in 1978'.
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Nichols did indeed confess to killing Pulley, as well as admitting to raping a number of other women in the same area. However, while he claimed he was remorseful for his actions, he alleged he wouldn't have stopped committing such crimes if he hadn't been arrested.
During his trial, the killer said: "I'd just get these feelings and I'd do it. I can't describe it or understand it."
Nichols went on to tell the jury that if he could 'trade places' with Pulley, he would.
After almost four decades on death row, the US Supreme Court declined to issue a stay of execution on December 11, and Nichols was executed by lethal injection at Riverbend Maximum Security Prison in Nashville.
In his final statement, he appeared to address both his victims and their loved ones.
He said: "To the people I harmed, I'm sorry."
Local 3 reporter Michelle Heron, who witnessed the execution, described Nichols as being 'emotional'.
"He nodded his head. I also saw his right foot kind of moving," Heron said of his final moments.
Among those who have been impacted by Nichols' actions is Pulley's sister Lisette Monroe, who was quoted by CBS News as describing her sister as 'gentle, sweet and innocent'.
With Nichols no longer around, Monroe is now hopeful that she'll be able to focus on the happy memories she has of Pulley instead of thinking about her murder.
Meanwhile Jeff Monroe, Pulley's brother-in-law, told Local 3: "We have waited 37 years for justice. We understand that taking a life is serious; we don't take any pleasure out of it. However, the victims, and there were many, were carefully stalked and attacked.
"We are relieved that the nightmare is over and take comfort in knowing that he never again will be able to hurt anyone else.
"Moving forward, our family is going to concentrate on happy memories of Karen and never again have to be retraumatized by this monster."
Nichols' death marks the third execution in Tennessee this year, and the 46th in the United States.
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org
Emily Brown