Convicted mid-Missouri murderer Tisius set to be executed tonight

Barring intervention from a federal judge or the U.S. Supreme Court, a convicted killer from mid-Missouri will be executed this evening at the state’s maximum-security prison in Bonne Terre.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson has denied a clemency request from 42-year-old Michael Tisius.

“Missouri’s judicial system provided Mr. Tisius with due process and fair proceedings for his brutal murders of two Randolph County jail guards,” the governor says, in a written statement.

Tisius was convicted and sentenced to death for killing Randolph County jailers Jason Acton and Leon Egley in Huntsville in 2000 in an effort to help Tisius’ former cellmate try to escape from jail. The inmate was unable to escape.

State Rep. Peter Merideth (D-St. Louis) had requested clemency for Tisius. Death penalty opponents wanted the governor to commute Tisius’ sentence to life in prison without parole. Governor Parson notes the Missouri Supreme Court scheduled the execution, and that he will follow the law and the court order “to ensure the family members of Mr. Acton and Mr. Egley may finally receive justice for the loved one they lost.”

Tisius will be executed by lethal injection after 6 pm in Bonne Terre, barring court intervention.