Missouri Supreme Court sets date to execute fourth person facing death penalty this year
READ MORE
Death penalty in Missouri
Missouri executed four people in 2023. Amber McLaughlin, Michael Tisius, Johnny Johnson and Leonard Taylor, who maintained that he was innocent, all died by lethal injection. The state is one of five in the country that carried out executions last year.
Expand All
The state of Missouri has scheduled a fourth execution for this year.
The Missouri Supreme Court issued a warrant of execution Tuesday for Christopher L. Collings. The 49-year-old is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Dec. 3.
He was convicted in 2012 of killing Rowan Ford, a 9-year-old girl who was found in a cave in McDonald County, The Springfield News-Leader reported.
Appeals at the state and federal level were struck down.
Collings’ attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is the fourth person scheduled to be executed in Missouri this year.
Brian Dorsey was executed on April 9 at Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center, in Bonne Terre, about an hour south of St. Louis. The state prison houses the execution chamber.
David Hosier was executed June 11.
Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams is scheduled to be executed Sept. 24. He claims he is innocent and that DNA found on the murder weapon was not a match. An evidentiary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 21. The St. Louis County Prosecutor’s Office supports his case and in January, filed a motion to vacate his conviction.
Ten people remain on death row in Missouri, which in recent years has increased its pace of executions. Last year, the state executed four people.
This story was originally published August 13, 2024 at 2:55 PM.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
