Samuel Flippen

Samuel Russell Flippen (September 30, 1969 – August 18, 2006) was an American man who was executed in North Carolina for murder. Flippen was sentenced to death for the February 1994 murder of Britnie Nichole Hutton, his 2-year-old stepdaughter.

Since Flippen's execution, there have been concerns raised about his conviction. Flippen had no criminal record and maintained his innocence to the end after turning down two offers to plead guilty to second degree murder in exchange for a life sentence with parole eligibility, against the advice of his lawyer. Flippen was convicted after it was determined that the victim's injuries, which included six injuries to her head, at least three injuries to her chest, additional injuries to her pelvis, hip bone, eye, and forehead, and bruising on her arm and right thigh, plus severe tearing of her liver and pancreas which caused internal bleeding, were far too severe for them to have been caused by her falling off a chair, as he had claimed. Shortly before Flippen's execution, it was also suggested that the girl's mother had killed her, despite the fact that she was proven to have left nearly an hour beforehand.

Britnie Hutton's biological father opposed the execution, albeit other family members were in favor of it. Flippen remains the most recent person executed in North Carolina.