Tennessee executes murderer and rapist Harold Wayne Nichols by lethal injection for the 1988 killing of college student

Harold Wayne Nichols, a Tennessee death row inmate, was executed nearly four decades after he brutally raped and murdered college student Karen Pulley. Nichols used his last words to apologize to the people he harmed before he was administered a lethal injection of pentobarbital at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

The 64-year-old Nichols expressed his readiness to “go home” and offered apologies to his victims and family members. Despite seeking a stay of execution, his plea was denied by the Tennessee Supreme Court, and he was pronounced dead at 10:39 a.m. on Thursday.

Nichols had been on death row since 1990 after being found guilty of killing 20-year-old Karen Pulley, a student at Chattanooga State University. Pulley was attacked in her home on September 30, 1988, when Nichols broke in, assaulted her with a 2-by-4, raped her, and fled. She succumbed to her injuries the following day.

Karen Pulley was Nichols’ first known victim in a crime spree that lasted from September 1988 to January 1989. During this period, he raped several women and attempted to assault others in the Chattanooga area. Nichols confessed to Pulley’s murder and admitted to raping seven other women at his trial.

Although expressing remorse for his actions, Nichols acknowledged that he would have continued his violent behavior if he had not been apprehended. He received a death sentence in 1990 for Pulley’s murder, along with over 200 years for multiple rape and burglary charges.

Nichols’ execution was delayed twice, once in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and again in 2022 after a procedural error led to a statewide suspension of executions by Governor Bill Lee. Pulley’s sister, Lisette Monroe, described the 37 years of agony her family endured waiting for justice to be served.

Monroe expressed hope that Nichols’ execution would bring some closure and allow her family to focus on the happy memories of her sister, describing Karen as “gentle, sweet, and innocent.” Nichols’ execution marked the third under Tennessee’s new lethal injection protocol, which utilizes pentobarbital as a single drug.

As the chapter closes on this tragic case, Monroe and her family can begin the healing process and cherish the memories of their beloved Karen, free from the burden of reliving her senseless murder.