Dec. 14 MISSISSIPPI----impending execution Nixon denies he committed crime hours before scheduled execution Condemned killer John B. Nixon Sr. denied his guilt the morning of his execution but said he was sorry. "He said that he was sorry for the world, basically. He was sorry for himself, and he was sorry for the family," said Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps, who spoke to Nixon this morning. "He's still saying he didn't commit the crime, but he knows who did," Epps said. The U.S. Supreme Court denied Nixon's application for stay of execution today, as well as his petition for a new hearing. Nixon's attorneys broke the news to him, the commissioner said. "I haven't gotten any word about him being bitter or hostile," Epps said. This morning, Nixon appeared to be "in a very good mood" and was chatty, correctional officers said. This afternoon, they described him as "calm and tranquil." Nixon did not have any visitors Saturday, Sunday or Monday. His attorneys Brian Toohey and David Mills visited him Tuesday. Shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday, Nixon visited with his sisters Ruth Lee and Paige Walden, his niece Janell Veach and her husband Denny Veach, his spiritual adviser the Rev. Billy Mitchell and the Mississippi State Penitentiary Chaplain Willie Bays. At 12:41 p.m., Nixon made a collect phone call to his attorney Brian Toohey. Nixon is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. today. He was convicted of killing Rankin County resident Virginia Tucker for $1,000 and shooting her husband Thomas Tucker in 1985. Elester Ponthieux, Virginia Tucker's ex-husband, hired Nixon to kill Tucker. He is serving a life sentence for his role in the crime. Thomas Tucker survived the shooting and will witness Nixon's execution. At age 77, Nixon will be the oldest person executed in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. After Nixon is put to death this evening, his body will be loaded into a hearse and his sister Paige Walden will claim him, Epps said. (source: Jackson Clarion Ledger) WASHINGTON: Judge Dismisses "Evolving Standards" Argument In Death Penalty Case A man who raped and killed a seven-year-old girl could still face a possible death penalty. A judge in Everett ruled against defense lawyers who made a pre-trial motion that "standards of decency" had evolved. A new sentencing trial -- with a possible death penalty -- will be held in the spring for Richard Mathew Clark. The 36-year-old was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of Roxanne Doll. The state Supreme Court overturned the sentence because jurors had heard too much information about Clark's previous conviction for abducting a 4-year-old girl. The case was sent back to Snohomish County to decide whether he should be executed or spend the rest of his life in prison without parole. (source: Associated Press)
