93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
A state lawmaker from St. Louis and other death penalty opponents are urging Missouri’s governor to block Tuesday’s scheduled execution of convicted murderer Michael Tisius.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson’s spokeswoman, Kelli Jones, tells 939 the Eagle that the governor’s office is reviewing the clemency request from Tisius and his supporters.
The 42-year-old Tisius is under a death sentence for killing two Randolph County jailers in Huntsville in 2000 in an attempt to help Tisius’ former cellmate try to escape from jail. The former cellmate was unable to escape. The two jailers were Leon Egley and Jason Acton. Both of the jailers were unarmed and were shot to death at the old jail.
The Missouri Supreme Court has scheduled the execution for Tuesday evening for Tisius. Barring intervention from the courts or from Governor Mike Parson, Tisius will be executed by lethal injection at the maximum-security prison in southeast Missouri’s Bonne Terre on Tuesday evening.
Our news partner KMIZ quotes State Rep. Peter Merideth (D-St. Louis) as wanting the execution to be blocked, saying he wishes for a state with more empathy.
“Wish for a state, I long for a state where our leaders could have empathy. Both with the victims and with the people that made the terrible choices who were probably victims leading up to that in their lives as well,” Representative Meredith is quoted as saying at Tuesday’s event in Jefferson City.
Death penalty opponents want the governor to commute Tisius’ sentence to life in prison without parole.
