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| N.C. Convicted Murderer Executed |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 10/15/2001 |
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A man convicted of murdering a storekeeper 10 years ago was executed early Friday, hours after losing a last-minute appeal effort. David Junior Ward, 39, became the fourth person executed this year in North Carolina. He died by injection at 2:17 a.m. He had been sentenced to death for his role in the ambush and shooting death of Dorothy Mae Smith on April 3, 1991. At a clemency hearing Monday, defense lawyer Marvin Sparrow tried to convince Gov. Mike Easley that the death sentence was unfair because a co-defendant, who received life in prison, was more responsible for the crime. But prosecutors said Ward received a proper sentence from the jury and that his lawyers were engaging in last-ditch attempts to derail a just punishment. Ward visited with his mother, brother and daughter for more than four hours Thursday, but they did not stay to watch the execution. Last week, Easley commuted the death sentence for Robert Bacon Jr. to life in prison. Bacon's lawyers had argued that racism played a part in the punishment of their client, who was sentenced to death while a white co-defendant received a life sentence. |
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