By Patrick McCreless
The Cullman Times
ATMORE — The small, white room was dark except for a soft red light glowing in the corner. Four of Max Landon Payne's closest family and friends sat in a row in front of a window shielded by a white curtain.
At 6:01 p.m., a corrections officer pulled back the curtain to reveal Payne, strapped to a table.
Payne caught the eye of his friend Douglas Price and the two immediately flashed each other the Hook 'em Horns hand sign, which, according to prison minister Donald Blocker, meant 'I love you.'
"I just want to tell my family I love them," Payne said.
After speaking his final words, a priest took Payne's left hand and made a silent prayer as the injections began.
With a calm, somber look on his face, Payne closed his eyes, never to reopen them.
Payne, 38, was pronounced dead by lethal injection at 6:25 p.m. Thursday at the Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore.
He had been on death row since 1994, when he was convicted of the kidnapping and murdering of West Point businessman Braxton Brown.
In 1992, Payne kidnapped Brown from his place of business and drove him to several places before he took him to a bridge on Crooked Creek, where he shot him in the face with a shotgun.
None of Brown's family members attended the execution.
In a written statement, Price said Payne had paid the ultimate sacrifice for the crime he committed. Price added that Payne had wanted to donate his organs but was not allowed to do so.
Alabama Department of Corrections Spokesman Brian Corbett said the denial was related to a medical issue.
Payne spent his final hours leading up to the execution watching television and visiting with family and friends. His final meal consisted of a turkey sandwich with tomatoes, potato salad and cake.
In a written will, Payne left his most personal possessions to his sister Wilma Easterling and friend Claudia Wheatly, which included a Rosary necklace, several letters and photographs, two Bibles and a drawing of his family.
He also left some possessions to fellow inmates Richard Flowers and Calvin Stallworth, including a box of tobacco, seven matches, stamps, food and a television.
Payne's death marked the sixth execution performed in Alabama this year — the most performed in the state over a one-year time span since 1983.
* Patrick McCreless can be reached by e-mail at patrickm@cullmantimes.com or by telephone at 734-2131 ext. 270.
