Execution to Proceed, Despite Papal Appeal
Virginia authorities said they intend to go ahead with the execution of convicted killer Joseph Roger O’Dell today, despite appeals for clemency from Pope John Paul II and Italian authorities. Although a clemency petition was before Virginia Gov. George F. Allen, prison officials were moving ahead with preparations for the execution, said David Botkins, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Corrections. O’Dell is expected to die by lethal injection for the 1985 rape and murder of Helen Schartner of Virginia Beach.
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