Paul Warner Powell (April 13, 1978 – March 18, 2010) was an American man convicted and executed for the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

of his friend Stacie Reed, 16, in 1999. He also raped, strangled, and stabbed the girl's sister Kristie, 14, who survived. Following the vacature of his

capital murder Capital murder was a statutory offence of aggravated murder in Great Britain, and Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, which was later adopted as a legal provision to define certain forms of aggravated murder in the United States. In som ...

conviction upon appeal, he wrote letters boasting about his crimes under the mistaken belief that he was exempt from punishment by the principle of

double jeopardy In jurisprudence, double jeopardy is a procedural defence (primarily in common law jurisdictions) that prevents an accused person from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges following an acquittal or conviction and in rare case ...

. 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 Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisdi ...

, 20-year-old Powell killed his 16-year-old friend, Stacie Reed. He first attempted to rape her after learning Stacie's current boyfriend was African-American; Powell was "a self-avowed racist and white supremacist" who objected to interracial relationships. After Stacie 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 ordered her to the basement and raped her. Interrupted by someone at the front door, he dressed and tied the girl up. While he was gone, Kristie untied her hands and tried unsuccessfully to hide or escape. Powell returned to the basement, removed Kristie's eyeglasses, and strangled her until she was unconscious. He stabbed her in the stomach, and the knife stopped within a centimeter of her aorta. He slashed her on her neck numerous times; the wounds later required 61 sutures. She had multiple stab wounds to her neck and abdomen as well as wounds on her wrists. Her stepfather, Robert Culver, arrived home at 4:15 p.m. He found Stacie's body then searched the house for the phone to call police. He then found Kristie bleeding in the basement. She ultimately survived — with the scars on her neck serving as visible evidence of the brutal attack. She testified against Powell at his trial.

Legal proceedings and claim of double jeopardy

Powell was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death, but the verdict was thrown out on appeal by the

Virginia Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative ...

. 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. The conviction for the rape of Kristie Reed was upheld, and Powell was given three life sentences. Powell, believing that he no longer faced execution due to

, 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. The letter to the prosecutor read, in part: ''"Since I have already been indicted on first degree murder and the Va. Supreme Court said that I can't be charged with capital murder again, I figured I would tell you the rest of what happened on Jan. 29, 1999 to show you how stupid all of y'all . . . are"''. He detailed how he told Stacie she could ''"do it the easy way or the hard way"'' and how she continued to resist him. He then stabbed her and stomped on her neck until she stopped breathing. ''"I guess I forgot to mention these events when I was being questioned. Ha Ha! ... Do you just hate yourself for being so stupid and for

essing Essing is a municipality in the district of Kelheim in Bavaria in Germany. It lies on the river Altmühl The Altmühl (, la, Alchmona, Alcmana, Almonus)verdict In law, a verdict is the formal trier of fact, finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. In a bench trial, the judge's decision near the end of the trial is simply referred to as a finding. In Engl ...

had been

vacated A vacated judgment (also known as vacatur relief) makes a previous legal judgment legally void. A vacated judgment is usually the result of the judgment of an appellate court, which overturns, reverses, or sets aside the judgment of a lower court. ...

, he had not been

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

of the

criminal charge A criminal charge is a formal accusation made by a governmental authority (usually a public prosecutor or the police) asserting that somebody has committed a crime. A charging document, which contains one or more criminal charges or counts, can ...

, and was still eligible to be retried for first degree murder. Using the letter that Powell wrote, prosecutors indicted Powell again for the attempted rape and murder of Stacie Reed. Powell was once again convicted, and was sentenced to death.

Execution

Powell chose to be executed by the

electric chair An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...

instead of

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...

. He made no

final statement A person's last words, their final articulated words stated prior to death or as death approaches, are often recorded because of the decedent's fame, but sometimes because of interest in the statement itself. (People dying of illness are frequen ...

; 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. He was executed on March 18, 2010. Powell was the second-to-last person to die in Virginia's electric chair.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Paul Warner 1978 births 2010 deaths 21st-century executions by Virginia 21st-century executions of American people American white supremacists American people executed for murder American people convicted of attempted murder American people convicted of rape American people convicted of attempted rape American murderers of children People convicted of murder by Virginia People executed by Virginia by electric chair Racially motivated violence in the United States

History

Legal proceedings and claim of double jeopardy

Execution

See also

References