Paul Warner Powell

Paul Warner Powell (April 13, 1978 â€“ March 18, 2010) was an American man convicted and executed for the murder and attempted rape of a 16-year-old acquaintance in 1999. He also raped and severely injured the girl's 14-year-old sister, who unexpectedly survived. After his capital murder conviction was vacated on appeal, he wrote letters boasting about his crimes under the mistaken belief that he was exempt from punishment by the principle of double jeopardy. His letters were used as evidence against him in a second trial that resulted in his execution in 2010.

History

On January 29, 1999 in Manassas, Virginia, 20-year-old Powell killed his 16-year-old friend, Stacie Reed, upon learning she had a black boyfriend. He first attempted to rape her, but when she fought him off, he stabbed her in the chest, puncturing her heart. Powell then drank iced tea and smoked, while waiting for Kristie, Stacie's 14-year-old sister, to come home from school. When she arrived, Powell raped and strangled her and stabbed her in the stomach before slashing her throat and leaving her to die. After arriving home and finding Stacie's body, the girls' stepfather searched the house for the phone to call police and EMTs; he then found Kristie bleeding in the basement. Kristie ultimately survived—with the scars on her neck serving as visible evidence of the brutal attack. She was able to testify against Powell at his trial.[1]

Powell was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death, but the verdict was thrown out on appeal by the Virginia Supreme Court. The court decided that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Powell attempted to rape Stacie and that there were no other aggravating factors that would warrant a death sentence: the fact that Kristie had been raped could not serve as a basis for making Stacie's killing a capital murder.[2] The conviction for the rape of Kristie Reed was upheld, and Powell was given three life sentences.

Powell, believing that he no longer faced the death penalty because of double jeopardy, then wrote an abusive letter to the prosecutor and admitted that he attempted to rape Stacie and boasted about his crimes in detail, among several other taunting or threatening letters he sent to the victims' family. In fact the principle of double jeopardy did not apply, since although his capital murder verdict had been vacated, he had not been acquitted, and was still eligible to be retried.

Using the letter that Powell wrote, prosecutors indicted Powell again for the rape and murder of Stacie Reed. Powell was once again convicted, and was sentenced to death.[2]

Execution

Powell chose to be executed by the electric chair instead of lethal injection. He made no final statement, however the day before his death, he spoke to Reed's family by phone and acknowledged the crime "was a senseless and pointless thing" and said he was sorry.[3] He was executed on March 18, 2010.

See also

References
  1. "Paul Warner Powell #1198". Clark County Indiana Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  2. Mears, Bill (January 25, 2010). "Appeal denied for killer who sent taunting letter". CNN. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  3. "Virginia executes man in 1999 murder of woman, rape of her sister". The Washington Post. March 19, 2010.
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