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A Mississippi man convicted of raping and murdering a college student in the nineties was executed Wednesday after spending more than 30 years on death row, according to officials.
In a news 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 put to death by lethal injection at 6:15 p.m. local time at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman,” the release said.
Earlier that day, the Mississippi Department of Corrections had also confirmed via Facebook that the execution had been scheduled, pending a stay.
“The U.S. Supreme Court denied Crawford’s request for a stay, and on Monday, Governor [Tate] Reeves denied Crawford’s Clemency request. Before the execution, the state supreme court had denied motions for a stay,” the evening release confirmed.
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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 parents’ home in Tippah County on Jan. 29, 1993.
On 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 had been returning from a hunting trip. He later told investigators he had blacked out and could not remember killing Ray.
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Authorities determined that Crawford took Ray from her family’s home to a remote cabin, where he handcuffed, raped, and fatally stabbed her in the chest.
At the time of his arrest, he was also days away from standing 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 later convicted Crawford in both cases, with the earlier 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 filed appeals which were unsuccessful.
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The Associated Press reported Crawford’s attorneys petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing his Sixth Amendment rights were violated when his defense lawyers conceded guilt and pursued an insanity defense against his wishes.
“It’s almost like he didn’t even get the chance to have [an] innocent or guilty matter because his attorney just overrode his wishes from the outset,” said Krissy Nobile, the director of the Mississippi Office of Capital Post-Conviction Relief, who represented Crawford, per the AP.
The Mississippi Supreme Court rejected the appeal in September, ruling it was filed too late.
Reeves wrote on Facebook Oct. 13, “Justice must be served on behalf of victims. In Mississippi, it will be.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Mississippi Department of Corrections for comment.
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