Supreme Court Refuses to Stay Man’s Execution
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COLUMBIA, S.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday refused to grant a stay to a man set to die in the electric chair today for the murder of two teen-agers.
With two dissenting votes, the court refused to halt the execution of James Terry Roach, 25, who was to die for the October, 1977, slayings of Tommy Taylor, 17, and Carlotta Hartness, 14. Roach’s lawyers argued that he should not be put to death because he was only 17 and had symptoms of mental disease when he pleaded guilty.
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