Nathaniel Woods was executed Thursday for the murder of three cops after the Supreme Court dramatically reversed his last-minute stay

The Alabama inmate convicted of killing three cops has been executed - just hours after the Supreme Court issued a stay of execution following public protests of his innocence from Kim Kardashian and Martin Luther King Jr's son.

Nathaniel Woods, 44, was sentenced to death for the 2004 murders that rocked Birmingham - despite another man confessing to being the lone gunman in the slayings.

He was set to die by lethal injection at 6pm Thursday at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore.

In a dramatic turn of events, the Supreme Court issued a stay just minutes before his execution at around 5:30pm.

But the courts backpedaled on the move hours later, despite the 44-year-old's attorneys filing a petition claiming ineffective counsel in his first trial and the outcries of celebrities that he was innocent of the crime.

Woods was executed by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 9:01pm.

Martin Luther King III condemned the Supreme Court and Alabama Governor Kay Ivey for their 'reprehensible' actions and the 'irreversible injustice' caused.

Police officers Carlos Owen, Charles Bennett and Harley Chisolm III, were shot dead on June 17, 2004, at an apartment in Ensley, Birmingham, when they were trying to serve a warrant for Woods' arrest for misdemeanor assault.

A fourth officer was also injured in the shooting but survived and testified against Woods.

Woods' alleged accomplice, Kerry Spencer, confessed to being the lone gunman responsible for the slaying of the officers.

But, despite the confession, both men were charged and convicted with capital murder.

Prosecutors alleged that Woods and Spencer had conspired to lure the cops to the apartment to murder them.

They said that, while Woods did not pull the trigger that ended their lives, he was Spencer's accomplice in the events that became known as the 'Deadliest Day' in the history of the Birmingham Police Department,.

Woods was in the apartment at the time of the murders.

Left to right: Officers Carlos Owen, Harley A. Chisholm III and Charles R. Bennett were killed while serving a warrant at a home in Birmingham in 2004

Kerry Spencer (above) confessed to being the lone gunman responsible for the slaying of the officers

A jury convicted Woods in December 2005, and returned a non-unanimous verdict of 10-2 for the death penalty.

Such convictions are allowed under state law, and other people have been executed for 'non-triggerman' slayings in the past.

Spencer has repeatedly insisted that Woods is innocent of any involvement.

'Nathaniel Woods is 100% innocent,' wrote Spencer in an open letter. 'I know that to be a fact because I'm the person that shot and killed all three of the officers that Nathaniel was subsequently charged and convicted of murdering.

'Nathaniel Woods doesn't even deserve to be incarcerated, much less executed.'

Last week, in an interview with The Appeal, the shooter again said there had been no conspiracy.

'There was no plan to kill the police,' he said.

Celebrities and activists waded in on the case, protesting Woods' innocence of the crimes and calling for Alabama Governor Ivey to halt the execution.

Kim Kardashian, who is trying to rebrand herself as a justice reform activist, tweeted the case to her 64 million followers on Thursday and pleaded with the governor for a reprieve.

'#NathanielWoods is scheduled to be executed in Alabama TONIGHT for murders he did NOT commit. Join the broad coalition- including members of the jury and relatives of the victims – in urging @GovernorKayIvey and @AGSteveMarshall to stay Nate's execution,' the reality star tweeted.

The case has been widely publicized after celebrities and activists waded in, protesting Woods' innocence of the crimes. Kim Kardashian, who is trying to rebrand herself as a justice reform activist, tweeted the case to her 64 million followers on Thursday and called on the courts to grant a stay

Kardashian's plea came after Martin Luther King Jr's son and other famous figures all called for the execution to be halted.

Martin Luther King III stepped in Tuesday after Woods' earlier request for a stay of execution was denied on Monday.

'WE NEED YOUR HELP. Nate Woods is about to be executed in Alabama. This is an injustice, and we need to make sure the public is aware. Please retweet, tag @GovernorKayIvey, and use the hashtag #SaveNate,' he tweeted Tuesday.

The message was shared alongside a letter he sent to Ivey.

King said in the Twitter post he sent the letter 'after she denied my phone call'.

'In just 2 days, your state, and the state I was born in, is set to kill a man who is very likely innocent,' he writes in the letter.

'(Fifty-five) years ago, my father, Martin Luther King, Jr., [led] a march from Selma, Alabama, where he and fellow civil rights activists were killed and beaten.

'Under your watch, Alabama is about to produce yet another tragic injustice.'

He later added in a tweet: 'My father marched from Selma 55 years ago, where many were killed and beaten. He was fighting for justice his whole life.

'Allowing the execution of Nate Woods would only show that we have not learned from the past. It's time to be on the right side of history.'

King reiterated concerns that Woods never got a fair trial.

Woods pictured at his trial: A jury convicted Woods in December 2005, and returned a non-unanimous verdict of 10-2 for the death penalty - even though prosecutors said he did not pull the trigger

Pamela Woods, sister of Nathaniel Woods, spoke to reporters outside Holman Correctional Facility ahead of his scheduled execution on Thursday

She held up a page from the trial transcript that she said shows her brother was surrendering when the three officers were shot

'Killing this African-American man, whose case appears to have been strongly mishandled by the courts, could produce an irreversible injustice,' King wrote in the letter. 'Are you willing to allow a potentially innocent man to be executed?

'So before you allow the execution of Nathaniel Woods, I urge you to grant him a reprieve. We must allow time to accurately review the new evidence.'

Democratic Senator Doug Jones said he had also shared his concerns over the execution with the Alabama judge.

'Given the questions and mitigating issues involved in this case — and the finality of a death sentence — a delay is warranted to provide time for a thorough review of all the facts and circumstances to truly ensure that justice is done,' he said.

Woods' family has long insisted that he is innocent of the charges.

His sister Pamela Woods stood outside the correctional facility Thursday ahead of his execution, holding up a page from the trial transcript that she said shows her brother was surrendering when the three officers were shot dead.

'We want justice for the officers,' she said, according to the Montgomery Advertiser.

'We want justice for my brother. It can't be one-sided or for one group of people. You have to have justice for everyone. We want justice for Nathaniel.'

Martin Luther King III (pictured in January) stepped in Tuesday after Woods' earlier request for a stay of execution was denied on Monday

King tweeted a message to the governor and sent a letter 'after she denied my phone call'

King's letter to Ivey reiterated concerns that Woods never got a fair trial

A Change.org petition had gained more than 91,000 signatures by Thursday afternoon calling for the execution to be stopped.

Ivey had given no indication of whether she would grant a reprieve.

However, Alabama State Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement Wednesday that Woods had been 'correctly found guilty and sentenced to death by a jury of his peers.'

'The only injustice in the case of Nathaniel Woods is that which was inflicted on those four policemen that terrible day in 2004,' he said.

In the eleventh hour a reprieve was granted by the Supreme Court, signed by Justice Clarence Thomas.

The stay came so close to the wire, Woods had already had his final meal of sweet potatoes, spinach, chicken patty, chicken leg quarter, cooked apples, fries, two oranges and an orange flavored drink, according to a statement from Alabama Department of Corrections.

The 44-year-old's attorneys then filed a petition to the Supreme Court at around 7pm asking for his case to be reviewed on the basis that he had ineffective counsel in his first trial.

'Mr. Woods has never had the benefit of competent, conflict-free counsel to investigate and present his constitutional claims, so the public cannot be assured that his proceedings have adhered to the Constitution,' his defense attorneys wrote.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey had given no indication of granting a reprieve as of Thursday morning. In the eleventh hour a reprieve was granted but the decision was then reversed. Ivey's office sent Woods' attorneys a letter saying the judge was not planning to issue a new stay because it was 'unwarranted'

The Alabama Attorney General's Office denied the petition, saying the stay was 'unwarranted.'

It said: 'First, Woods is not entitled to a stay because his motion is extraordinarily untimely. Second, he cannot show a substantial likelihood of success on the merits. Thus, the motion is due to be denied.'

Ivey's office sent one of Woods' attorneys, Lauren Faraino, a letter saying the judge would not be issuing a new stay.

'Governor Ivey does not presently intend to exercise her powers of commutation or reprieve in this case,' the letter said.

'While Governor Ivey reserves the right to grant clemency at any time before an execution is carried out, she has determined, based on her review of the complete record, including the matters presented in your letter, that clemency for Mr. Woods at this hour is unwarranted.'

At around 8pm, two hours after Woods' execution was scheduled, the Supreme Court reversed its decision, lifting the stay and putting the execution back on.

Kardashian and King again took to Twitter in a last-ditch attempt to get Woods a reprieve.

Kardashian and King again took to Twitter in a last-ditch attempt to get Woods a reprieve after the Supreme Court reversed its decision, lifting the stay and putting the execution back on

King blasted Ivey and the courts for the 'irreversible injustice' of executing Woods

'Nate will die for a crime another man confessed to and says Nate had nothing to do with. My heart and prayers are with Nate and his family and all the advocates who worked tirelessly to save his life,' Kardashian tweeted.

King urged people to tweet Ivey and to call her chief of staff to try to halt the execution.

'Nathaniel Woods is slated to be killed tonight. The stay has been lifted,' he wrote.

Their efforts were to no avail and Woods was executed by the state shortly after 9pm.

Woods did not have any last words.

King blasted Ivey and the courts for the 'irreversible injustice'.

'In the case of Nathaniel Woods, the actions of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Governor of the State of Alabama are reprehensible, and have potentially contributed to an irreversible injustice. It makes a mockery of justice and constitutional guarantees to a fair trial,' he tweeted.

Ivey issued a statement after the execution standing by the original jury's decision to convict Woods.

'Under Alabama law, someone who helps kill a police officer is just as guilty as the person who directly commits the crime. Since 1983, Alabama has executed two individuals for being an accomplice to capital murder.

'After thorough and careful consideration of the facts surrounding the case, the initial jury's decision, the many legal challenges and reviews, I concluded that the state of Alabama should carry out Mr. Woods' lawfully imposed sentence this evening,' the statement said.

'This is not a decision that I take lightly, but I firmly believe in the rule of law and that justice must be served. My thoughts and most sincere prayers are for the families of Officers Chisholm, Owen and Bennett. May the God of all comfort be with these families as they continue to find peace and heal from this terrible crime.'

Woods is the first person executed in Alabama state this year and the 67th since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

Spencer also faces the death penalty but his execution date has yet to be set.

Woods tagged as an accomplice and sentenced to death

During Woods' trial in 2005 prosecutors accused him his roommate Spencer of being involved in the sale of crack cocaine from their home in the Ensley area of Birmingham.

When police officers Chisholm, Owen and Bennett were gunned down on the afternoon of June 17, 2004, in the Ensley area of Birmingham, they were trying to serve Woods with an outstanding warrant for misdemeanor assault.

Officers were said to have entered the apartment intending to arrest Woods - but he broke away and ran to the front of the house.

A federal court filing from the Attorney General’s Office detailing the crime said: 'Woods, who was still standing behind his screen door, began to curse again and told the officers to leave.

'Officer Owen informed Woods that they had a warrant for his arrest and that he needed to come outside.

'Woods refused, even after the officers showed him the NCIC printout and his mugshot. He told the officers, ‘If you come in here, we’ll f*** you up.’'

The report then notes that after his initial resistance Woods backed down. 'None of the officers had their weapons drawn. Woods quickly surrendered,' it says.

Spencer then opened fire on the officers, killing three of them and wounding the fourth with an automatic SKS rifle.

The surviving officer, Michael Collins, said at the time that he believed Woods helped plan the shooting but did not fire the gun.

Collins said Woods yelled: 'I give up. I give up. Just don't spray me with that mace,' before the shooting initiated.

The officer said that he 'knew it wasn't Nathaniel' who had fired at him.

Prosecutors did not dispute that it was Spencer who shot at the officers, but Woods was tagged as an accomplice, meaning he was still eligible for the death penalty in Alabama.

The jury recommended by a vote of ten to two that Woods be sentenced to death.

The conviction and sentence was affirmed by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals and the Alabama Supreme Court.

An appeal was dismissed in 2010 another attempt failed in 2016.