Virginia Execution Is Carried Out

By Frank Green

JARRATT -- Jerry Terrell Jackson was executed by injection tonight for the rape and murder of an 88-year-old woman he suffocated with a pillow and robbed of $60.

Jackson, 30, was pronounced dead at 9:14 p.m., said officials at the Greensville Correctional Center where Virginia executions are carried out.

Asked if he had any last words, Jackson shook his head indicating no.

It was the first execution in Virginia using the sedative pentobarbital as the first of three drugs administered in lethal injections. Virginia and most states traditionally used another drug that is no longer available.

Larry Traylor, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Corrections, said there were no complications.

Jackson was escorted into the execution chamber by execution team members at 8:53 p.m. He was quickly ushered onto the gurney and strapped in.

At 8:55 p.m., curtains were closed, blocking the view of witnesses while an IV line was inserted in each of his arms.

After the curtains reopened, Jackson declined to make a last statement and the first of three chemicals started flowing.

His chest moved as he breathed, his right toe appeared to tap and he moved his head a bit, but the movements quickly ceased.

He was pronounced dead by a doctor who was remotely monitoring his heartbeat.

Jackson was sentenced to death for the slaying of Ruth Phillips in August 2001. Jackson broke into her apartment, where she lived alone, assaulted her and fled with her automobile.

Her partially clothed body was discovered by her son, Richard Phillips, who went to check on her when she failed to attend church and did not answer her phone.

"These were senseless crimes committed with no regard for anyone or anything other than Jackson's own gratification," Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said in a statement tonight. "The just sentence of death has now been carried out.  Our thoughts and prayers remain with the family and friends of Ruth Phillips."

Source;  http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/breaking-news/2011/aug/18/12/elderly-womans-killer-scheduled-be-executed-tonigh-ar-1247416/

Virginia Governor Will Not STOP Execution

Published : Friday, 12 Aug 2011

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Gov. Bob McDonnell said Friday he will not stop next week's execution of a man who was convicted of raping and killing an elderly Williamsburg woman.

McDonnell's action leaves the U.S. Supreme Court as the only hope for Jerry Terrell Jackson, 30, who is to die by injection Thursday at Greensville Correctional Center.

"After conferring with the appropriate parties, as well as thoroughly reviewing the clemency petition and the judicial opinions in this case, I find no compelling reason to set aside the sentence of the jury, imposed and affirmed by the courts," McDonnell said.

Jackson was convicted of the 2001 murder of 88-year-old Ruth Phillips.

His lawyers argue the jury was not given a complete picture of the abuse he suffered as a child, and that evidence of abuse could have convinced jurors to spare Jackson's life.

"We respect the governor's decision, but we are profoundly disappointed that he chose not to intervene in this instance," said Josh Toll, a Washington attorney who is helping represent Jackson.

Jackson would be the first Virginia inmate to die using a new drug protocol that replaces the sedative sodium thiopental with pentobarbital in the three-drug cocktail. A nationwide shortage of sodium thiopental forced many states to substitute pentobarbital, but some have questioned its use. Courts have ruled that the change in drugs is not significant enough to postpone executions.

Jackson's attorneys have argued that his trial attorneys failed to present evidence of his extreme abuse as a child. A federal judge agreed and ordered a new sentencing hearing for Jackson last year, but the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked that hearing on a technicality in April.

Jackson admitted to police that he broke into Ruth Phillips' apartment Aug. 26, 2001, and that he put a pillow over her face to try to make her pass out once she awoke and caught him rummaging through her purse. He told police he left in Phillips' car and used the $60 to buy marijuana. He said he had not intended to kill Phillips.

At trial, Jackson said he lied to police and that an accomplice smothered Phillips. He denied raping Phillips, but prosecutors presented pubic hairs matching Jackson's DNA that were found around her body. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 2003.

Phillips, a widow for 30 years, worked as a seamstress making slip covers and draperies. 

Source;  http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/virginia/virginia-governor-won%27t-stop-execution

August Execution Set For Virginia Inmate

Associated Press

by Dena Potter

RICHMOND

A Virginia inmate who was sentenced to death for raping and killing an elderly woman in 2001 is facing an August execution.


Jerry Terrell Jackson, 29, is scheduled to be executed Aug. 18 for the murder of 88-year-old Ruth Phillips of Williamsburg.

If Jackson chooses lethal injection over electrocution, he would be the first Virginia inmate executed under a new drug protocol that replaces the sedative sodium thiopental in the three-drug cocktail with pentobarbital.

A nationwide shortage of sodium thiopental forced many states to substitute pentobarbital, but some have questioned its use. Defense attorneys called for an investigation after a Georgia inmate executed last week using the new drug appeared to struggle during the lethal injection.


Courts have ruled that the change in drugs is not significant enough to postpone executions.

Virginia is one of few states that allow inmates a choice of execution methods. Jackson will not be asked to decide until 15 days before his scheduled execution, Department of Corrections spokesman Larry Traylor said.

Attorneys for Jackson did not immediately respond to calls and emails seeking comment. They are likely to appeal Jackson's case to the U.S. Supreme Court and ask Gov. Bob McDonnell to commute his sentence to life in prison.


"Justice will finally be carried out for the commonwealth and the family of Mrs. Ruth Phillips," Attorney General's Office spokesman Brian Gottstein said.

Jackson's attorneys have argued that his trial attorneys failed to present evidence of his extreme abuse as a child, which could have convinced jurors to spare his life. A federal judge agreed and ordered a new sentencing hearing for Jackson last year, but the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals blocked that hearing on a technicality in April.

"I think it's about time. I think it's really overdue," said Richard Phillips, Ruth Phillips' son, who found his mother dead after she failed to show up for church. "The law is the law, and if we don't respect the law and stand by the law, what have we got? Nothing?"


Phillips said he does not plan to witness the execution.


"There have been times where you want to have vengeance, but that's not my thing," he said.


Ruth Phillips, a widow for 30 years, followed her son to Virginia from New Hampshire in the late '90s. She worked as a seamstress making slip covers and draperies until her death, Richard Phillips said.

Jackson admitted to police that he broke into Ruth Phillips' apartment on Aug. 26, 2001, and that he put a pillow over her face to try to make her pass out once she awoke and caught him rummaging through her purse. He told police he left in Phillips' car and used the $60 to buy marijuana. He said he had not intended to kill Phillips.

At trial, Jackson said he lied to police and that an accomplice smothered Phillips. He denied raping Phillips, but prosecutors presented pubic hairs matching Jackson's DNA that were found around her body. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 2003.

Phillips said Jackson's attorneys should not try to fight the execution. Once it has been determined that Jackson was guilty and that the conviction was appropriate, "that's the time to hang it up," he said. He encouraged them to be concerned not only with their client, but with the victims.


"If they were really thinking about compassion and justice, they would let it go," he said.

Source; http://hamptonroads.com/2011/06/execution-date-set-man-death-williamsburg-woman

Appeals Court Denies Condemned Va Man's Appeal

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) A federal appeals court has denied a Virginia death row inmate's request to reconsider his case, clearing the way for his execution to be set.

The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday denied 29-year-old Jerry Terrell Jackson's request asking a three-judge panel that ruled on his case last month to reconsider or to allow the full court to hear the case.

A federal judge ruled last spring that Jackson deserved a new hearing because his attorney did not present evidence during his 2002 sentencing of the extreme abuse Jackson faced as a child. Last month a three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit overturned that ruling.

Jackson was convicted of raping and killing 88-year-old Ruth Phillips of Williamsburg in 2001.

Source;  http://www2.wsls.com/news/2011/may/20/appeals-court-denies-condemned-va-mans-appeal-ar-1053417/