A convicted ax murderer who killed five people will be executed by lethal injection in Alabama — the fifth prisoner to be put to death in the state this year, the governor announced on Tuesday.

Derrick Dearman, 35, was convicted in the savage slaying of five friends and family members of his then-girlfriend — including a pregnant woman and her unborn child — in a meth-fueled massacre in Citronelle, Alabama in 2016.

Dearman fired his attorneys earlier this year and ended all appeals of his conviction and death sentence.

“I’ve decided to drop my appeals and have my sentence carried out… I was fairly tried and convicted. I agreed with the court’s decision,” he told AL.com in a phone interview from death row this spring.

“Whether I was in my right mind or not, innocent lives were lost and the crime was committed,” he said.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced Dearman will be executed between 12 a.m. October 17 and 6 a.m. October 18.

He chose to die by lethal injection rather than nitrogen hypoxia — a controversial execution method that was introduced to Alabama just this year.

While Dearman had said earlier this year he wasn’t prepared to die any time soon, he penned a letter to the Alabama Attorney General’s Office last month, outraged that other death row inmates were jumping line ahead of him, according to AL.com.

“I have done everything that is required to drop my appeals and have my sentence carried out and I am compotent [sic] and of a sound mind…can you please respond to this letter to let me know what the hold up is??????” the convict wrote.

“All this is hard on not only me but my family and the longer it takes the more me and my family have to go through,” Dearman added.

Dearman was abusive towards his girlfriend at the time, Laneta Lester, and the day before the killings, Lester’s brother picked her up and took her to safety at his home in a remote area of Mobile County near Citronelle, according to court documents.

Dearman showed up at the home multiple times that night, but no one there would allow him inside.

In the early morning hours of Aug. 20, 2016, Dearman picked up an ax from the yard, broke into the home and started hacking at the victims while they slept.

After attacking five victims with an ax and fatally shooting them, Dearman forced Lester, who was unharmed, and a 3-month-old child into a car and drove them to his father’s house in Mississippi.

The victims were Lester’s brother Joseph Adam Turner, 26; Robert Lee Brown, 26; Chelsea Marie Reed, 22; Justin Kaleb Reed, 23; and Shannon Melissa Randall, 35.

Chelsea Reed was pregnant with her and Justin Reed’s first child.

The 3-month-old boy, who was in bed with them at the time, was the first son of Turner and Randall.

He turned himself in the next day and admitted to authorities that he was “strung out” on drugs during the killings.

“If I was sober, that would have never happened,” he told AL.com.

Dearman was put on death row in 2018. He is scheduled to be the fifth person put to death in Alabama this year.

Alabama will attempt to conduct a sixth execution this year, which would tie the state for the most in the past 50 years.

Gov. Kay Ivey Tuesday set an Oct. 17 execution date for Derrick Dearman, 36, who confessed to killing Robert Lee Brown, 26; Chelsea Marie Reed, 22; Justin Kaleb Reed, 23; Joseph Adam Turner, 26 and Shannon Melissa Randall, 35, on August 20, 2016. Chelsea Reed was five months pregnant.

The day of the murders, Dearman drove to a house west of Citronelle in Mobile County where his girlfriend had gone to escape him and end their relationship. Dearman killed the five people in the house, then drove his estranged girlfriend and the infant of one of the victims to his father’s house in Mississippi, where he let them go. Dearman later turned himself into the police in Greene County, Mississippi.

Dearman pleaded guilty to the murders in 2018, but a trial took place as required by state law in capital cases. A jury sentenced Dearman to death. The state plans to execute Dearman by lethal injection.

Dearman earlier this year fired his attorneys and wrote to Ivey and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, asking them to set his execution date. He told CNN in April that it was “the only option that would help the victims’ families get the closure they need to move forward.”

“From my point of view, there’s nothing I could ever say or do to make this right,” Dearman said. “I feel like I personally have a debt for the crimes that I committed. That’s the only way that I could ever show that I’m truly remorseful, that I truly do have a conscience.”

Dearman’s execution would be the fifth conducted in 2024 and the sixth to be scheduled. The state executed Kenneth Eugene Smith by nitrogen gas in January. Jamie Ray Mills, executed in May, and Keith Edmund Gavin, executed in July, were both put to death by lethal injection. Alan Eugene Miller is scheduled to be executed by nitrogen gas this month, and Carey Grayson by nitrogen gas in November.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Alabama last executed six people in 2011. It also executed six people in 2009. Both were the most for the state since executions resumed in 1983.

The 2024 Alabama high school football season is moving into high geart. We’ve watched and evaluated the action and have come up a list nominees for North Alabama High School Football Player of the Week.

Review this group of athletes and vote for the player you find most deserving.

SBLive voting polls are intended to be a fun way to create fan engagement and express support for your favorite high school athletes and teams. Unless expressly noted, there are no awards for winning the voting. Our primary focus is to highlight the abilities and accomplishments of all the athletes and teams included in our poll. You can vote as often as you wish and are encouraged to share our polls with others. The use of voting bots and other forms of automated voting are not allowed. Individuals will be removed from the poll if any form of automated voting can be verified. – SBLive Sports

Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Sep. 8th. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:

Helped Austin in a 41-0 victory over Decatur. Potter had 111 yards on four receptions. Potter is currently committed to Murray State. 

McClure ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns in a victory over Plainview, 37-33. 

Pierce completed 13 of 17 with 272 passing yards and four touchdowns as the Pirates defeated Albertville 56-7. Pierce is not committed anywhere at this time. 

Was 16-20 passing for 305 yards and 4 touchdowns. Frye also ran for 38 yards in a blowout victory over Ramsay, 62-7. Frye is a Junior, and looks to continue to help the Cougars win.

Ran the ball 11 times for 131 yards and 2 touchdowns. Grant helped the Vikings snap their 12 game losing streak in a 52-14 victory over Columbia. 

Was 4-6 passing for 41 yards, but ran 15 times for 158 yards and 3 touchdowns in their 28-19 victory over Shades Valley. Nelson is listed as a three star according to 247Sports and holds offers from Murray State, Samford, and UT Martin. 

Had 5 tackles, 3 sacks and interception for a touchdown in their 36-6 victory over Fultondale. 

Ran for 249 yards and 3 touchdowns on 16 carries. Unruh also had a 96 yard kickoff return for a touchdown for the Yellow Jackets in a 35-18 victory over Dora. 

Johnson ran for 166 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries in a 42-10 win over Brooks. Johnson looks to help the Rebels return to the playoffs this season

Gilbert went 20-for-25 with 298 yards, with three touchdowns and an interception. He also ran for 64 yards and a touchdown on the ground in a 30-22 victory over Fyffe, their first victory over the Red Devils since 2003.