|
|
| N.C. Inmate Executed Despite Pope's Call for Mercy |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 11/30/2001 |
|
A man whose death sentence prompted a call for mercy from Pope John Paul II was executed early Friday for killing his neighbor and burying her body on his grandmother's farm. John Hardy Rose, 43, was sentenced to die by injection for his confessed killing of Patricia Stewart on Jan. 3, 1991. He refused to ask Gov. Mike Easley for clemency, but the Pope and local church leaders asked that the death sentence be changed to life in prison. Rose was pronounced dead at 2:18 a.m. in the Central Prison death chamber. He was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Stewart, who lived below him in his Robbinsville apartment building. Rose told investigators Stewart was a girlfriend who threatened to file rape charges if he left her, but the woman's family and prosecutors said Rose was a stalker. When Rose's legal appeals were exhausted, he told his lawyer not to ask Easley for clemency. But the case took a turn when Pope John Paul II asked Easley - who is a Roman Catholic - to spare Rose's life via a letter written by the Vatican ambassador to the United States. On Thursday night, the governor said he saw no convincing reason to grant clemency for Rose. Rose was the fifth person executed this year. The state had scheduled 10 executions in 2001 but four were stayed by court appeals and one prisoner's death sentence was commuted to life in prison. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think