Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, a Republican, is pushing for an execution date for Charles Ray Crawford, a convicted killer who has been on death row for 30 years. Crawford was sentenced to death for the 1993 kidnapping and killing of 20-year-old Kristy Ray. His attorneys argue that it is premature to set an execution date as Crawford plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
During his trial in 1994, jurors cited a past rape conviction as an aggravating circumstance in issuing Crawford’s death sentence. His lawyers are currently appealing this conviction to the Supreme Court after a lower court ruling against them last week. Crawford was arrested the day after Ray was kidnapped and killed, claiming he had blacked out and did not remember committing the crime.
In addition to the murder conviction, Crawford faced charges for assaulting a woman with a hammer, as well as a separate rape case involving a 17-year-old girl. Crawford claimed to have blacked out during these incidents as well. Jurors found the prior rape conviction to be an aggravating circumstance during the sentencing phase of the murder trial.
In his latest federal appeal, Crawford alleged that his previous lawyers provided ineffective assistance for an insanity defense. Despite receiving a mental evaluation, the trial judge did not allow outside mental health professionals to assist in Crawford’s defense. A majority of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected his appeal, but dissenting judges highlighted inadequacies in his defense, citing a neurologist’s evaluation.
After the federal appeals court denied Crawford’s latest appeal, Attorney General Fitch filed documents urging the state Supreme Court to set an execution date, claiming that all state and federal remedies have been exhausted. However, Crawford’s legal team plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the appeals court’s decision.
Crawford’s case has seen multiple appeals with various arguments, which is common in death penalty cases. The ongoing legal battle continues as both sides present their arguments to the courts.
