Gov. Parson, SCOTUS decline to stop execution of Christopher Collings, set for Tuesday
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has denied a clemency request from convicted killer Christopher Collings, who is scheduled to be executed Tuesday.
Attorneys for Collings have raised questions about his case and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution, but the high court also denied their request Monday.
Collings — who was convicted of the 2007 killing of Rowan Ford, a 9-year-old girl in southwestern Missouri — is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Tuesday. In a statement Monday, Parson said the state would carry out the execution as planned.
“Mr. Collings has received every protection afforded by the Missouri and United States Constitutions, and Mr. Collings’ conviction and sentence remain for his horrendous and callous crime,” Parson said. “The State of Missouri will carry out Mr. Collings’ sentence according to the Court’s order and deliver justice.”
“There is not and never has been any doubt about Collings’ involvement or the heinousness of his crimes,” the statement continued. “Nor has Collings’ conviction or sentence ever been reversed on appeal. Collings’ case has been reviewed in the state trial court, Missouri Supreme Court, federal district court, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and United States Supreme Court.”
A message seeking comment sent to Jeremy Weis, an attorney for Collings, was not returned Monday evening.
