News

Mississippi Supreme Court sets Jan. 8 execution date

December 10, 2002

The Mississippi Supreme Court on Tuesday set a Jan. 8, 2003, execution date for Mississippi death row inmate Ronald Chris Foster.

The order, signed Tuesday, Dec. 10, by Supreme Court Presiding Justice James W. Smith Jr., says:

This matter comes before this Court sitting en banc on the Motion to Reset Execution Date filed by the State of Mississippi, the Response filed by Ronald Chris Foster and the Reply filed by the State. After due consideration of the arguments presented by the parties the Court finds that a new date for execution of the Petitioner should be set under Miss. Code Ann. Section 99-39-29 (2000) and that no legal impediment exists to deter the resetting of an execution date, the United States Supreme Court having denied Foster's petition for writ of certiorari on December 2, 2002.

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that January 8, 2003, is hereby set as the date for execution of the Petitioner in the manner provided by law. It is further ordered that this order shall serve as the warrant of execution of the Petitioner.

SO ORDERED, this 10th day of December, 2002.

The case is cause number 91-DP-00212-SCT, Ronald Chris Foster A/K/A Ron Chris Foster v. State of Mississippi.

Foster was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death on Jan. 18, 1991, for the June 10, 1989, shooting death of store clerk George Shelton during the commission of a robbery at Hankins Superette in Lowndes County. Foster was tried in Lauderdale County on a change of venue.

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