07 July 2017 :
William Morva, 35, White, was executed. Morva was pronounced dead at 9:15 p.m., according to Lisa Kinney, a spokeswoman for the state corrections department.
"When asked whether he had any last words, Mr. Morva responded 'no'," Kinney said.
"The execution was carried out without complications."
Virginia used a three drug mixture, including midazolam and potassium chloride that it obtained from a compounding pharmacy whose identify remains secret under state law. Morva was convicted in 2008 (see March 13 and June 23) for shooting Cpl. Eric Sutphin and hospital security guard Derrick McFarland after escaping from custody. Supporters failed to convince Gov. Terry McAuliffe that Morva's mental illness merited clemency and a life sentence. McAuliffe, who is personally opposed to the death penalty, said he would not stop the execution because he is convinced Morva received a fair trial. His clemency effort garnered support from local, national and international advocates pressing to stop states from executing people with severe mental illnesses. Amnesty International, the ACLU of Virginia and mental health organizations delivered more than 30,000 petitions to McAuliffe asking him to commute Morva's death sentence. The jury that sentenced Morva heard from two doctors who diagnosed him with a personality disorder similar to schizophrenia. But the doctors told jurors that Morva was not delusional - a determination that later was rebutted by another doctor and Morva's new team of lawyers. More than two dozen members of the Virginia General Assembly and three of the state's representatives in Congress, all Democrats, also asked McAuliffe to block the execution. And on Wednesday, Rachel Sutphin, one of the daughters of the slain sheriff's deputy said she, too, had written to McAuliffe supporting clemency for the man who killed her father.
Morva becomes the 2nd inmate to be put to death this year in Virginia, and the 113th execution in Virginia since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed executions to resume in 1976. Morva becomes the 14th inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1456th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.
