Inmate Reportedly Was Killed By Wife

A Death Row inmate who died along with his wife in a botched escape attempt was apparently killed by a bullet from her gun, preliminary autopsy results showed Friday.

Floyd Bennett Thornton Jr., 36, and his wife, Rebecca, 38, were killed Wednesday in a gunbattle with guards that broke out after she pulled up along the fence at the state prison in Florence as Thornton worked in the vegetable garden.

According to Camilla Strongin, Corrections Department spokeswoman, witnesses reported seeing Rebecca Thornton shoot her husband with a pistol through the fence after he apparently realized their escape plot had failed and begged: “Shoot me. I’m sorry things went wrong. Shoot me. Shoot me.”

However, authorities had been unsure whether Thornton was killed by a shot fired by his wife, who was in front of him, or prison guards, who were firing on the couple from behind with shotguns.