In brief
Charles Crawford was executed by lethal injection on Wednesday for the 1993 kidnapping, rape, and murder of Kristy Ray. Despite attempts to overturn his conviction, the U.S. Supreme Court denied his appeals. Crawford expressed love for his family in his final words and addressed Ray's family, stating that true peace is found with God. This execution marks another case in the year of increasing executions in the U.S., with a total of 38 men executed in 2025 alone.
PARCHMAN, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi man convicted of kidnapping, raping, and killing a 20-year-old community college student in 1993 was executed Wednesday.
Charles Crawford, 59, was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. following a lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman.
Crawford had spent more than 30 years on death row. His execution comes several months after the execution of Mississippi’s longest-serving death row inmate in a year of increasing executions nationwide.
Given the chance to make a final statement, Crawford said, “To my family, I love you. I’m at peace. I’ve got God’s peace,” and added, “I’ll be in heaven.”
In his statement, he also addressed Ray’s family, stating, “To the victim’s family, true closure and true peace, you cannot reach that without God.”
The execution got underway at 6:01 p.m. Crawford could be seen taking deep breaths. Five minutes later, he was declared unconscious. At 6:08 p.m., his breathing became slower and shallower, and his mouth quivered. A minute later, he took a deep breath and then his chest appeared to stop moving.
Crawford was convicted of abducting Kristy Ray from her parents’ home in northern Mississippi’s Tippah County on Jan. 29, 1993. When Ray’s mother came home, a handwritten ransom note had been left on the table, and Ray’s car was gone.
On the same day, a different ransom note was found in the attic of Crawford’s former father-in-law, leading to his arrest the following day. Crawford claimed he was returning from a hunting trip.
Crawford faced separate charges of assault before his trial regarding the Ray case, indicating a history of violence.
Despite multiple attempts to appeal his conviction, including a recent argument based on a Supreme Court ruling about legal representation, the Mississippi Supreme Court dismissed his appeals.
The lethal injection was the third in two days in the U.S. In addition to Crawford, executions were also carried out in Florida and Missouri. There are currently six more executions scheduled for 2025.
