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A Mississippi man convicted of raping and murdering a college student in the 1990s was executed Wednesday after spending more than 30 years on death row, authorities said.
In a press release shared by the Mississippi Department of Corrections, Crawford, 59, was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. local time.
“Charles Ray Crawford, 64, was executed by lethal injection at 6:15 p.m. local time at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman,” the statement said.
Earlier in the day, the Mississippi Department of Corrections also confirmed via Facebook that the execution had been scheduled, pending a reprieve.
“The U.S. Supreme Court denied Crawford’s request for a stay, and on Monday the governor [Tate] Reeves rejected Crawford’s request for clemency. Prior to the execution, the State Supreme Court had denied requests for a stay,” the evening statement confirmed.
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Charles Ray Crawford, an inmate on Mississippi’s death row, was convicted and sentenced to death in 1994 for the 1993 kidnapping and murder of community college student Kristy Ray, 20. (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 kidnapped from her parents’ home in Tippah County on January 29, 1993.
The same day Ray disappeared, investigators found a ransom note made from magazine cutouts in the attic of Crawford’s former father-in-law.
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 he was returning from a hunting trip. He later told investigators he lost consciousness and had no memory of Ray’s murder.
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Charles Ray Crawford was executed by lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman. (Google Maps)
Authorities determined that Crawford took Ray from her family’s home to a remote cabin, where he handcuffed her, raped her and fatally stabbed her in the chest.
At the time of his arrest, he was also days away from his trial for a 1991 assault in which he was accused of raping a 17-year-old girl and attacking her friend with a hammer.
Juries subsequently convicted Crawford in both cases, with the prior rape conviction serving as an aggravating factor during his capital murder trial. He was sentenced to death in 1994.
Over the next three decades, Crawford appealed, but was unsuccessful.
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Charles Crawford spent 30 years on death row and was put to death by lethal injection and for the 1993 kidnapping, rape and murder of 20-year-old Kristy Ray. (Jessie L. Bonner/AP Photo)
The Associated Press reported that Crawford’s lawyers petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that his Sixth Amendment rights were violated when his defense attorneys admitted guilt and pursued an insanity defense against his wishes.
“It’s almost as if he didn’t even have the chance to have [an] innocent or guilty because his attorney simply overstepped his wishes from the start,” said Krissy Nobile, director of the Mississippi Office of Capital Post-Conviction Relief, who represented Crawford, according to the AP.
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The Mississippi Supreme Court rejected the appeal in September, ruling it was filed too late.
Reeves wrote on Facebook on October 13: “Justice must be served on behalf of the victims. In Mississippi, it will be. »
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Mississippi Department of Corrections for comment.
