A US prisoner convicted of raping and murdering a college student has been executed after he tried to pull a last-ditch move to delay it.
Charles Crawford, 59, died of lethal injection yesterday at the Mississippi State Penitentiary after serving 30 years on death row for the murder, rape and abduction of 20-year-old college student Kristy Ray.
Crawford’s lethal injection is the third execution in the US this week. So far this year, the country has executed 38 prisoners, the highest number since 2013.
The inmate spent his last day with visits from family members and a minister.
His last meal consisted of a double cheeseburger, French fries, peach cobbler and chocolate ice cream.
Crawford’s final words were before he closed his eyes: ‘To my family, I love you. I’m at peace. I´ve got God´s peace and I´ll be in heaven.
‘To the victim´s family, true closure and true peace, you cannot reach that without God.
‘Thank you God, for giving me the peace that I have.’
The execution began shortly after 6pm, when the first drug entered Crawford’s veins as he lay strapped to a gurney. Within two minutes, his chest rose and fell as he lost consciousness.
He was pronounced dead at 6.15pm.
Authorities said that Crawford was out on bond awaiting trial on separate charges of aggravated assault and rape when he abducted Ray from her parents’ home on January 29, 1993.
Ray’s mother found her daughter’s car gone and a handwritten ransom note on the table.
A day later, Crawford was arrested and told the police he blacked out and did not recall killing Ray.
He was found guilty of the separate charges he was out on bond for, as well as the charges for the rape and murder of Kristy.
Throughout his 30 years on death row, he kept unsuccessfully trying to overturn his death sentence.
Death Row famous last words
- Clarence Ray Allen: ‘Hoka Hey, it’s a good day to die’
- William Bonin, dubbed the Freeway Killer: ‘I would suggest that when a person has a thought of doing anything serious against the law, that before they did that, they should go to a quiet place and think about it seriously’
- George Bernard Harris: ‘Someone needs to kill my trial attorney’
- Aileen Wuornos: ‘I’ll be back, like Independence Day, with Jesus’
- John Wayne Gacy: ‘Kiss my ass’
- Carl Panzram: ‘Hurry up…I could kill ten men while you’re fooling around’
Source: People
Hours before the lethal injection took place, Crawford’s attorneys filed an emergency motion within the state Supreme Court seeking a stay of execution.
However, it was rejected and called a ‘last-minute attempt’ to delay the lawful execution.
Director of the Mississippi Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel, Krissy Nobile, described Crawford as a respected, uplifting presence on death row who worked inside the prison and advocated for other inmates.
Crawford’s lethal injection was the third in two days in the US after executions in Florida and Missouri on Tuesday. A total of 38 men have died by court-ordered execution this year, with six more scheduled to take place this year.
The next scheduled execution is Richard Djerf, who was convicted of killing four members of a family in Arizona more than 30 years ago.
Famous last meals
- John Wayne Gacy: 12 fried shrimp, a bucket of original recipe KFC, French fries and a pound of strawberries
- Timothy McVeigh, the American terrorist behind Oklahoma City bombing: Two pints of mint chocolate chip ice cream
- Ricky Ray Rector: Steak, fried chicken, cherry Kool-Aid and pecan pie – left the pie behind and told a guard he was ‘saving it for later’
- Angel Nieves Diaz: He declined a last meal so he was served regular prison food which he also refused to eat
- Ronnie Lee Gardner: Steak, lobster tail, apple pie, vanilla ice cream and to eat it all while watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy
Source: CBS News
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