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| Virginia Killer Found Through Search of DNA Database Executed |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 03/18/2002 |
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James Earl Patterson apologized for ''the evil I brought into this world'' before becoming the first person in the nation executed based on a DNA ''cold hit.'' Patterson, 35, filed no last-minute appeals of his conviction for the 1987 rape and fatal stabbing of Joyce S. Aldridge. He begged her relatives for forgiveness before he was put to death Thursday night at Greensville Correctional Center. ''My heart goes out to the Aldridge family and all that I put them through,'' he said. ''I pray they will all find God as I have found him.'' Patterson was imprisoned for nearly 14 years in an unrelated case and would have been released in 2004. Instead, he was implicated in the murder when the state compared DNA samples from the crime with samples in its database of 175,000 felons. A ''cold hit'' matched the DNA of Patterson. After the 1999 match, Patterson confessed and pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting and killing Aldridge, 56, on Oct. 11, 1987. He told investigators that he forced his way into her home to steal money to buy drugs but became enraged when he learned she only had coins in her purse. He raped her and stabbed her 17 times. After he was strapped down to the gurney, Patterson lifted his head and stared intently into the witness box, appearing to give a small nod in the direction of his spiritual adviser. ''I am at peace now and ready to meet my maker,'' Patterson said. He apologized for ''the evil I brought into this world by my evil deeds.'' He rested his head on the gurney as the lethal chemicals flowed. He was pronounced dead at 9:10 p.m. Members of the victim's family witnessed the execution from a separate room. Department of Corrections spokesman Larry Traylor would not identify them. Patterson's relatives visited him earlier in the day. There were no protesters outside the prison. Of the 37 other states with the death penalty, no executions have been based on a cold hit DNA match, an Associated Press survey found. Virginia also was the first state to execute a person whose conviction was based on DNA evidence. Timothy W. Spencer went to the electric chair in 1993 for a series of slayings. |
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