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| Family Opposes Death for Killer |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 10/23/2002 |
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The family of a college student who was murdered by a pizzeria worker nearly two years will ask a judge to spare her killer's life. Tom Murray, the victim's father, said Tuesday that the family believes Gregory McKnight should spend the rest of his life in prison but should not be given a death sentence for killing Emily Murray. 'We're going to ask the judge to consider a sentence that would assure McKnight dies in prison, but not in the hands of the executioner,' Tom Murray said Tuesday. A Vinton County Common Pleas Court jury recommended the death penalty for McKnight on Monday, three days after he was convicted of killing Emily Murray, 20, and a second person, Gregory Julious, 20. Judge Jeffrey Simmons has set sentencing for Oct. 25 for the death of Murray, a junior at Kenyon College in Gambier. Remains of both victims were found on McKnight's property in southeast Ohio in December 2000. Murray and his wife, Cynthia, issued a statement Monday in which they noted their daughter's opposition to the death penalty. 'We harbor no illusions about McKnight,' the statement said. 'He is evil, the very embodiment of evil. But it is vitally important to us, Emily's family, to bear witness to her beliefs just as we bore witness to her life during the trial.' The case received national attention when Simmons ruled in August that prosecutors could not seek the death penalty because the county might not be able to afford to mount a proper prosecution and pay for McKnight's defense. He later changed his mind. |
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