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| U.S. Supreme Court rejects Ga. inmate's stay |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 07/20/2004 |
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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to stop the execution of a death row inmate scheduled to die later in the day for kidnapping, raping and murdering his 2-year-old niece. Defense attorneys have argued DNA testing of two newly discovered hairs could prove he is not the killer. Eddie Albert Crawford, 57, faced execution by injection Monday evening after 20 years on death row for the 1983 killing of Leslie Michelle English in Griffin. Crawford claims he blacked out after drinking and doesn't remember what happened. The nation's highest court did not comment on Monday's decision. Three of the court's more liberal members Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg supported giving Crawford a stay. His attorneys did not immediately returned calls on whether they planned any other legal steps. Several defense attorneys are seeking DNA testing of two hairs found on the girl's body and clothing to determine if they belong to Crawford or someone else. The attorneys hoped the courts would find that prisoners have a constitutional right to have such existing evidence tested. The state parole board denied their requests Friday, citing overwhelming evidence against Crawford, including his own comments after he was taken into custody. It was the first use of a new Georgia law that allows convicts to request DNA testing to be exonerated. Crawford was linked to the crime by other hair and carpet fibers found on the girl's body, as well as her blood found in his car. Crawford's attorneys had filed appeals with the U.S. Supreme Court over the weekend, as Crawford has exhausted all of his legal options within Georgia, said Spaulding County District Attorney Bill McBroom. The new hairs will be tested in the coming weeks by the Georgia Innocence Project, even if the execution goes forward, said Aimee Maxwell, the project's executive director. |
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