Mississippi man executed after 30 years on death row for college murder
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A Mississippi man convicted of raping and murdering a college student in the nineties was executed Wednesday after more than 30 years on death row, according to authorities.
In a news shared by the Mississippi Department of Corrections, it was announced that 59-year-old Crawford died at 18.15 local time.
“64-year-old Charles Ray Crawford was killed by lethal injection at 18:15 local time at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman,” the statement said.
Earlier the same day, the Mississippi Department of Corrections also confirmed via Facebook that the execution was planned and postponed.
“The U.S. Supreme Court denied Crawford’s request to stay, and on Monday Governor [Tate] Reeves denied Crawford’s request for Mercy. “Before the execution, the state Supreme Court rejected requests for a stay of execution.”
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Mississippi death row inmate Charles Ray Crawford was convicted and sentenced to death in 1994 for the 1993 kidnapping and murder of a 20-year-old community college student named Kristy Ray. (Mississippi Department of Corrections via AP)
Crawford’s death marked the end of a long legal battle stemming from the 1993 kidnapping, rape and murder of 20-year-old Kristy Ray.
She was abducted from her family’s home in Tippah County on January 29, 1993.
The day Ray disappeared, investigators found a ransom note made from magazine cutouts in Crawford’s ex-father-in-law’s attic.
The note, which mentioned a woman named Jennifer, was turned over to authorities, who began searching for Crawford.
He was arrested the next day, claiming to have returned from a hunting trip. He later told investigators that he lost consciousness and did not remember killing Ray.
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Charles Ray Crawford was executed by lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. (Google Maps)
Authorities determined that Crawford took Ray to a cabin away from his family’s home, where he handcuffed her, raped her, and fatally stabbed her in the chest.
At the time of his arrest, he was a few days away from being tried for the assault in which he was accused of raping a 17-year-old girl and attacking her friend with a hammer in 1991.
The jury later convicted Crawford in both cases; his previous rape conviction served as an aggravating factor in the capital murder case. He was sentenced to death in 1994.
Over the next three decades, Crawford filed unsuccessful appeals.
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Charles Crawford was sentenced to 30 years on death row and was executed by lethal injection for the 1993 kidnapping, rape and murder of 20-year-old Kristy Ray. (AP Photo/Jessie L. Bonner, File)
Associated Press Crawford’s attorneys have filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that his Sixth Amendment rights were violated when defense attorneys pleaded guilty and entered an insanity defense against his wishes.
“It’s almost like he didn’t even get a chance to have it [an] “It’s an innocent or guilty issue because his attorney overrode his wishes from the very beginning,” said Krissy Nobile, director of the Mississippi Department of Capital Post-Conviction Relief, who represents Crawford, according to the AP.
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The Mississippi Supreme Court rejected the objection in September and ruled that the application was filed too late.
“Justice must be served for the victims. That’s what it will be like in Mississippi,” Reeves wrote on Facebook on Oct. 13.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Mississippi Department of Corrections for comment.
