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Missouri governor weighs death row inmate's fate as execution time nears Missouri prisoner Richard Strong executed after failed clemency bid
(about 5 hours later)
The fate of a Missouri man who killed his girlfriend and her young daughter during an argument more than 14 years ago was in the hands Tuesday of the US supreme court and the governor. A Missouri man who killed his girlfriend and her two-year-old daughter with a butcher knife has been put to death.
Related: Daughter of Missouri death row inmate petitions governor to spare father's life Richard Strong, 47, was executed at the state prison in Bonne Terre for the deaths of Eva Washington and her daughter, Zandrea Thomas, more than 14 years ago. He was the fourth man to die by injection in Missouri this year and the 16th since November 2013. Only Texas has executed more inmates over that span.
Richard Strong is scheduled to die on Tuesday evening, but his attorney has asked the supreme court to halt the execution, arguing that he’s mentally ill. Governor Jay Nixon also is weighing a clemency request that heavily relies on Strong’s 14-year-old daughter, Alyshia, who was three months old when her mother and half-sister died. The bodies of Washington and her daughter were found in October 2000 in Washington’s apartment in the St Louis suburb of St Ann. A large butcher knife was found on a bed next to a pool of blood. Strong and Washington’s daughter together, three-month-old Alyshia Strong, was also on the bed but wasn’t harmed.
She told the Associated Press in an interview on Monday that she has forgiven her father. St Ann police received an emergency call from Washington’s apartment on 23 October 2000, during which a scream was heard. Officers headed to the apartment, where Strong met them outside. He initially told them Washington was sleeping, then said she had gone to work.
“My father’s a very important role model in my life,” she said. “He’s always been with me. He’s the only surviving parent I have and I struggle in life. To see my father live would help me.” Officers saw blood stains on his hand, at which point Strong tried to run. When they caught him, he admitted to the killings. Inside, police found the bodies and the unharmed three-month-old.
If neither the court nor the governor steps in, the 47-year-old Strong would be the fourth man executed in Missouri this year, and the 16th since November 2013. Only Texas has executed more inmates over that time span. Strong’s attorney, Jennifer Herndon, said Strong and Washington both had a history of mental illness and frequently argued.
Investigators said Strong used a butcher knife to kill his girlfriend, Eva Washington, on 23 October 2000 at her apartment in the St Louis suburb of St Ann. They said he then turned the knife on Washington’s two-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, Zandrea Thomas.
Police received a 911 call from the apartment that day and heard a scream during it. Officers headed to the residence, where Strong met them outside. He initially told them Washington was sleeping, then said she had gone to work.
Officers saw blood stains on his hand, and Strong tried to run. When they caught him, he admitted to the killings.
“Just shoot me, just shoot me,” he said, according to court records. “I killed them.”
Inside, police found the bodies. They also found a pool of blood on a bed, the knife next to it. They also found Alyshia, who was unhurt.
Strong’s attorney, Jennifer Herndon, said both Strong and Washington suffered from mental illness and frequently argued.
“He just snapped,” Herndon said. “It was just sort of a powder keg waiting to explode. It wasn’t a healthy relationship.”“He just snapped,” Herndon said. “It was just sort of a powder keg waiting to explode. It wasn’t a healthy relationship.”
Alyshia Strong was taken in by Strong’s mother. Despite the killings, she grew close to her father, frequently visiting him in prison. Alyshia Strong was taken in by Strong’s mother. Despite the killings, she grew close to her father, frequently visiting him in prison. A clemency request to governor Jay Nixon relied heavily on Alyshia’s words describing the importance of her father in her life.
“l know some people probably wonder how I can have a relationship with my father given that he killed my mother, but we are very close,” Alyshia wrote in seeking clemency for her father. “I am thankful I have him in my life.” “l know some people probably wonder how I can have a relationship with my father given that he killed my mother, but we are very close,” Alyshia, now 14, wrote.
“It is wrong for me to have another loss,” she wrote. “I understand that my father needs to face consequences and to pay for what he did, but I do not think it is right for me to lose my father as part of the punishment.” “I understand that my father needs to face consequences and to pay for what he did, but I do not think it is right for me to lose my father as part of the punishment,” she added.
On Monday, in an interview with the Associated Press, she said, “I’ve never been angry with my dad and I’ve learned to forgive.”
Strong’s fate was sealed when Nixon declined the clemency request and the US supreme court refused to intervene. The defence had asked the court to halt the execution because Strong was mentally ill, suffering from severe depression.