chose lethal injection as his means of execution. Hutchins was granted a stay of execution based on claims that his trial was prejudiced because jurors opposed to the death penalty were systemically excluded. The stay was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled against Hutchins in a 5-4 verdict, with dissenting Justice William Brennan decrying the quick verdict. "The most disturbing aspect of the court's decision is its indefensible -- and unexplained -- rush to judgment. When a life is at stake, the process that produces this result is surely insensitive, if not ghoulish," Brennan wrote. Justice Thurgood Marshall said he found the "court's haste outrageous." Just 40 minutes before his scheduled execution on January 13, the North Carolina State Supreme Court ruled that Hutchins's execution would have to be rescheduled, as state statute requires that a new date of execution must be set whenever a stay of execution is issued and then vacated. Hutchins was ultimately executed in North Carolina on March 16, 1984. His last meal consisted of a steak sandwich and a soft drink. He had no last words. Charges of political overtones in the execution Leading up to Hutchins' execution, then-North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt, a Democrat, was locked in a bitter US Senate election bid against conservative Republican icon and incumbent Senator Jesse Helms. Some charged that Hunt used his position as governor to expedite Hutchins' execution. Hutchins, a poor white male, was noted by politicians to be a "perfect poster boy" to execute prior to the fall election, in order to project Hunt as a tough on crime conservative democrat. Hunt did not commute Hutchins's death sentence, saying he found "no basis" to overrule court decisions. Hunt lost the Senate race to Jesse Helms by a substantial margin, but was re-elected as governor in 1992 and again in 1996 for two more terms. Helms served until retiring in 1996. Hunt would later comment that his role in executing Hutchins was a proud moment of his political legacy and that it was the "right thing to do". Aftermath and victims' legacy A previous incident similar to the Rutherford County murders occurred in 1975 when North Carolina Highway Patrolman G.T. Davis of Troop "A" was shot to death in downtown Williamston, Martin County. Davis had stopped a car for running a red light at the US 64 and US 17 intersection, unaware that minutes earlier