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South Carolina inmate who believes he is immortal cannot be executed due to mental illness, judge rules
A South Carolina inmate convicted of killing a state trooper more than 25 years ago cannot be executed due to a mental illness that has him believing he is immortal, a judge ruled.
John Richard Wood, 59, lacks the ability to rationally communicate with his lawyers and does not have a rational and factual understanding of his crimes, why he is being punished or the nature of his punishment, Judge Grace Knie found, based on the opinions of three mental health experts, according to WSPA and the South Carolina Daily Gazette.
A psychiatrist with the prosecution as well as a psychiatrist and a psychologist with Wood’s legal team all agreed that he failed this two-pronged legal standard for competence to be executed.
With this ruling, the judge upheld his attorneys’ claim that the debilitating effects of his schizophrenia prevent him from facing the death penalty at this time.
SOUTH CAROLINA COURT MOVES FORWARD EXECUTION OF COP KILLER WHO SAYS MOST LAWS ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Knie’s ruling must be reviewed by the state Supreme Court, which could determine whether to uphold or overturn her decision.
The judge said Wood believes that he is immortal, has already died three times on death row and will be resurrected again if the state executes him, citing the mental health experts’ testimony during a hearing in March, the South Carolina Daily Gazette reported.
Wood also believes he has already received a pardon from South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster.
The experts have said that while Wood understands why he received the death sentence, he mistakenly believes law enforcement officers were “trying to frame him for a brutal rape.”
Additionally, Wood believes the judge at his 2002 trial and courtroom personnel were working against him because they were agents of “Beloved Kevin Rudolph,” a deity that he thinks is part of a battle to rule the planet, according to the South Carolina Daily Gazette. Wood also believes he was given wings and immortality to win this fight.
He is the first inmate on death row in South Carolina found to be not competent to be put to death since the state restarted executions in September 2024 after a 13-year pause because the state was struggling to obtain lethal injection drugs. The state added the firing squad as an execution method during that hiatus. Seven executions have been carried out in the state since capital punishment was resumed, including three men who chose to die by firing squad.
Wood was convicted of killing South Carolina State Trooper Eric Nicholson in December 2000 during a traffic stop in Greenville County. Wood shot Nicholson five times during the traffic stop, according to authorities.
During a subsequent pursuit, he shot at police and hit one officer in the face with a bullet fragment. Wood was eventually taken into custody after he hijacked a truck.
He was sentenced to death in February 2002. He was among death row inmates in line to receive a death warrant after exhausting regular appeals.
While his death warrant is paused, Wood’s original conviction and sentence still stand.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the South Carolina Department of Corrections and Knie’s office for comment.
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Cameron Brink says being white and blonde gives her a marketing privilege over other WNBA players
This weekend Cameron Brink will begin her third WNBA season. While the Los Angeles Sparks forward rose to stardom for her play on the court, she is also building a growing reputation for her fashion sense off it.
Brink’s surge in popularity has raised her profile and opened the door to numerous opportunities in the fashion world. Now, she is sounding the alarm, pushing for more fashion opportunities across the league.
In a sit-down with Interview magazine, Brink acknowledged her own success in fashion and social media, she also pointed toward a larger issue surrounding endorsement opportunities.
“I’ve tried to be vocal about this and acknowledge there’s such a privilege, marketing-wise, being white and blonde,” Brink said. “It does really bother me seeing athletes and players who are consistently putting up crazy stat lines and not being rewarded by brands,” she told the outlet.
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Brink also shared details about the WNBA’s surge in popularity and how she brands herself and addressed the financial strain that remains a reality for many players, despite the historic raises agreed to in the new collective bargaining agreement.
“It’s really hard as a female basketball player to make money outside of our contracts. That’s what we’re fighting for right now. It’s really hard to live a lifestyle, especially in an expensive market like L.A. or New York, on a rookie contract,” Brink said.
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When asked about what she believes is most often overlooked in discussions about the league, Brink pointed to the consistent quality the WNBA has produced over nearly three decades.
“How consistently good our product has been,” Brink replied. “It’s still a really young league, and obviously we’re going through our whole battle with the CBA [Collective Bargaining Agreement]. We’re just trying to get paid what we’re worth. I think people are seeing the W as this new and shiny thing, but for two decades the level of play has been so high. I look up to so many women, like Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie. They’re famous now, but I wish they had that recognition while they were playing.”
The Sparks selected Brink with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 draft. She suffered a devastating injury during her rookie season, ultimately appearing in 15 games. She later documented her rehab on social media.
The former Stanford basketball standout has also appeared in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit and launched the “Straight to Cam” podcast with co-host Sydel Curry-Lee in January 2025.
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Scalise urges Pritzker to ‘look at the man in the mirror’ after he blames Trump for political violence
House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., urged Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to check his own backyard after he blamed President Donald Trump for fostering a climate in which political violence is tolerated.
“Governor Pritzker needs to look at the man in the mirror, and that’s where it needs to start,” Scalise told “Hannity” on Tuesday. “Stop the inciteful rhetoric that he and others like him are using deliberately. They know what they’re doing – it needs to stop.”
Scalise, a victim of political violence himself, shared the blunt message to Pritzker after his remarks in an interview with Politico.
“Our leaders set the tone in this country, and I think that the President of the United States has set a tone where political violence is okay. He’s advocated it himself before,” Pritzker told the outlet.
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In 2017, Scalise was shot in the hip during an attack targeting Republican lawmakers during practice in Virginia for the annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity. His grave injuries left him with no blood pressure and no pulse upon arriving in Washington D.C. via helicopter.
Scalise condemned the Illinois governor for using inflammatory rhetoric to describe President Trump, who Scalise noted, has been a target of multiple attempts of political violence.
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“Literally days into Donald Trump’s second term, he was comparing the president to Hitler and to Nazis, and he does this over and over again. He said, Republicans, remember that, Republicans cannot know a moment of peace. What does he mean by that?” Scalise said.
Pritzker’s remarks come days after a shooter opened fire at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner, who in his manifesto outlined his targets as Trump administration officials – except for FBI Director Kash Patel.
“He wants to try to blame Republicans when it’s the right that is being attacked by the left over and again,” Scalise said.
The Illinois governor has repeatedly compared Trump’s governance to that of the Nazis and Adolf Hitler in Germany during World War II.
“Many of those attempted assassins on Donald Trump have regurgitated those very same words — ‘Nazi, threat to democracy’—that people like Governor Pritzker used when they tried to kill the president. So they need to stop doing it,” Scalise told host Sean Hannity.
Scalise went on to argue that Democratic rhetoric is increasingly targeting Republicans, warning that the party’s far-left wing has “taken over” the party.
“People need to vote this November because that is the kind of methodology and ideology that wants to take back over. We can’t let it happen,” he said.
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Perez Hilton joins ‘Tomi Lahren Is Fearless’ and declares cancel culture is now a sport
In a striking crossover of media personalities, Perez Hilton joined the latest episode of OutKick’s “Tomi Lahren is Fearless” to discuss the cutthroat reality of modern cancel culture.
The two found common ground in criticizing digital mobs they say are more interested in destruction than accountability.
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Lahren opened the discussion by contrasting today’s climate with the past, noting that traditional PR cleanup has been replaced by a mass horde looking to end lives over minor mistakes.
“The cancel culture of today and especially of a few years ago is like cutthroat,” Lahren said. “There are people that we still don’t have in entertainment life because they made a small slip up and there was like this mass horde of people online that are like, cancel them, end their life, make sure they’re bankrupt.”
Lahren emphasized that her stance applies even to her critics. “I personally don’t like it,” she noted. “Even the people I don’t like, I don’t believe in cancel culture, unless you’re violent. It’s a much different environment now.”
Hilton, who became a household name for his own brand of celebrity call-outs in the mid-2000s, agreed that the landscape has fundamentally shifted.
“I don’t believe in cancel culture either,” Hilton said. “Nick Cannon says, counsel culture, not cancel culture. I love looking at it that way. But that’s if we’re assuming that people are being genuine.”
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Hilton argued that most canceling today isn’t about social justice but is instead a form of entertainment for the masses.
“What I’ve noticed over the last five to 10 years is that canceling somebody has really become a form of entertainment and a sport,” Hilton explained. “People are not trying to hold others accountable for the right reasons. They’re just doing it to get their rocks off.”
Hilton noted that while mid-level figures can be wiped out by a single controversy, the industry’s elite often remain untouched.
“There’s also a rule that I have, which is, yes, sadly, cancel culture still exists,” Hilton asserted. “But if you’re an A-lister, you’re cancel proof.”
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