Flint Gregory Hunt (June 27, 1959 – July 2, 1997)[2] was an American murderer executed by the state of Maryland in 1997. Hunt shot Baltimore police officer Vincent Adolfo twice in an East Baltimore alley on November 18, 1985, after Adolfo spotted him running from a stolen Cadillac. He was captured five days later at a bus station in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In June 1986, a Baltimore jury convicted Hunt of first-degree murder, and he was sentenced to death the following month. Eleven years later, Hunt was executed by lethal injection at the Maryland State Penitentiary at the age of 38.[3]
Flint Gregory Hunt | |
|---|---|
 Hunt in 1984 | |
| Born | June 27, 1959[1] Catawba, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | July 2, 1997 (aged 38) |
| Cause of death | Execution by lethal injection |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death (July 1986) |
| Details | |
| Victims | Vincent J. Adolfo, 25 |
| Date | November 18, 1985 |
Early life
editHunt was the third of five children. According to his sisters, his mother beat him with switches and extension cords. Hunt's father drank himself to death when he was 17.[4]
Murder
editOn the evening of November 18, 1985, while out on patrol in Baltimore, Maryland, 25-year-old Vincent J. Adolfo, a police officer, spotted a Cadillac with a missing window that was covered with plastic. He noted that four people were in the vehicle and decided to investigate. He soon learned the vehicle had been reported stolen. Adolfo called for backup while tailing the car. Two responding units set up a roadblock ahead. The driver of the stolen vehicle was Hunt, who jumped out of the vehicle as he got near the roadblock. The vehicle continued moving and collided with one of the patrol cars blocking the road. The officers apprehended the three remaining occupants.[5]
Hunt meanwhile fled into an alleyway and was pursued by Adolfo on foot. Adolfo captured Hunt, placed him against a wall and prepared to handcuff him. As he attempted to detain Hunt, he was pushed back and knocked over. Hunt then took out a .357 Magnum and shot Adolfo once in the chest at close range. Hunt then shot him again in the back before fleeing the scene. Adolfo was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.[5][6]
Capture and trial
editHunt escaped and called his friend, asking if he could give him the murder weapon, informing him that he had just murdered a police officer with it. Hunt and his girlfriend then went to the home of his sister, but left when a television broadcast announced that Hunt was being sought in relation to the crime. The following day, Hunt and his girlfriend drove to Camden, New Jersey. During the drive, Hunt admitted to his girlfriend that he had killed Adolfo. The two then parted ways, with Hunt boarding a bus alone to Santa Monica, California. On November 23, he was apprehended at a Tulsa, Oklahoma bus station,[5] after a woman on the bus alerted authorities when she spotted him acting suspiciously. He was held at a Tulsa jail before being extradited back to Maryland to face trial for murder.[7] He was also charged with using a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence, as well as unlawfully carrying a handgun.
Hunt was convicted of first-degree murder by a jury in June 1986 and sentenced to death.[8] He converted to Islam while on death row.[2]
Execution
editHunt originally requested to be executed by gas chamber. In an interview with The Baltimore Sun, Hunt revealed he had chosen this method because he wanted his death to look more like murder, as well as maximizing the violence of his execution carried out by the state. He later switched to lethal injection when he learned that his mother and bride wanted to witness the execution.[2]
On July 2, 1997, after making a final statement in which he said a prayer in Arabic, Hunt was executed via lethal injection at the Maryland Penitentiary.[9] He was pronounced dead at 12:25 a.m. He was the second person executed in Maryland since the 1976 Gregg v. Georgia decision,[10] and the first inmate to be executed by the state involuntarily.[11] He was also the 400th person to be executed in the United States since the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976.[12]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Case Number: 18533801". Maryland Circuit Courts. May 13, 1997. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
- ^ a b c Valentine, Paul W. (July 2, 1997). "Man who killed police officer is executed by injection in MD". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
- ^ McMenamin, Jennifer (December 6, 2005). "State has long history of capital punishment". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2007.
- ^ Shatzkin, Kate (June 16, 1997). "Killer of city officer seeks an ugly death If final appeals fail, Flint Gregory Hunt to die week of June 30". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Hunt v. State, 583 A.2d 218 (Md. 1990)". Maryland Court of Appeals. Court Listener. December 28, 1990. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
- ^ Dominguez, Alex (June 28, 1997). "Baltimore inmate changes mind about how to die". Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
- ^ "Alert Bus Passenger Helps Police Find Slaying Suspect". The Oklahoman. November 25, 1985. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
- ^ "Flint Gregory Hunt v. Eugene M. Nuth, Maryland Correctional Adjustment Center and Maryland Penitentiary J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Attorney General of the State of Maryland, (Two Cases), 57 F.3d 1327 (4th Cir. 1995)". United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Court Listener. June 27, 1995. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
- ^ McMenamin, Jennifer (January 26, 2007). "Key death penalty dates". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2007.
- ^ "Capital Punishment History – Persons Executed in Maryland since 1923". Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2007.
- ^ Stark, Michael (June 1998). "The Race to Kill in Maryland". Washington Peace Center. Archived from the original on August 11, 2007. Retrieved November 7, 2007.
- ^ "U.S. Executions Since 1976". The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney. Retrieved November 7, 2007.
| Preceded by John Thanos |
Executions carried out in Maryland | Succeeded by Tyrone X. Gilliam |