Mississippi executes man for convenience store killings

[News_Editor]

Mississippi executes man for convenience store killings

2012-02-09 09:22:55 GMT+7 (ICT)

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI (BNO NEWS) -- A Mississippi man convicted of killing two men during a robbery spree in December 1995 was executed on early Wednesday evening, officials said. A U.S. Court of Appeals declined to halt the execution based on claims he was mentally ill.

Edwin Hart Turner, 38, was convicted of killing Everett Curry and Eddie Brooks during the robberies of Mims One Stop and Mims Turkey Village Truck Stop in Carroll County during the early morning hours of December 13, 1995. His partner Paul Murrell Stewart confessed and testified against him and was previously sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.

Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) Commissioner Christopher Epps said Turner was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m. local time after being given a lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP) in Parchman. He said the execution marked the close of Turner's case.

"The State of Mississippi - Department of Corrections has carried out a court order issued by the state Supreme Court. The role of the MDOC is to see that the order of the court is carried out with dignity," Epps said during a press conference. "Through the course of nearly 15 years, death row inmate Edwin Hart Turner was afforded his day in court and in the finality, his conviction was upheld all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The cause of justice has been championed."

During his final hours, Turner met with his attorney, a spiritual adviser, his mother, two aunts and two cousins. Officers described Turner as being talkative and he took a final shower after his last meal. At the request of Turner, none of his family members witnessed the execution.

"I ask that you join me in prayer for the Brooks and Curry families. The entire MDOC family hopes the families of each of the homicide victims may now begin the process of healing. Our prayers and thoughts are with you as you continue life's journey," Epps added during the news conference.

During the investigation in 1995, investigators discovered in Turner's car a mask reportedly used at the crime scene, as well as Turner's fingerprints upon a weapon used at the scene. Additionally, the state's firearms expert determined that shell casings found at the murder scene matched weapons in Turner's home, and a cashier at one of the crime scenes identified Turner.

Turner was convicted on February 13, 1997, and sentenced to death on two counts of murder the following day. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the death sentence on February 2, 1999, denied rehearing on March 31, 1999, and denied Post-Conviction relief on January 4, 2007.

Lawyers for Turner argued that he suffered from a long and extensive history of mental illness, leading U.S. District Court Judge Carlton W. Reeves to postpone the execution until at least February 20 to determine whether the state had improperly kept him from getting a psychiatric evaluation. But the 5th U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans overturned the stay, and the U.S. Supreme Court failed to halt the execution.

Turner was the first person to be executed in Mississippi this year.

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