S.C. Executes Man Who Killed 2 When He Was 17

COLUMBIA, S.C. —  James Terry Roach, who murdered two teen-agers when he was 17, was executed today after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal and the governor refused clemency requests from the United Nations, Mother Teresa, former President Jimmy Carter and human rights groups.

Roach, 25, was pronounced dead by electrocution at 5:16 a.m.

“I leave you comfortable that I’ve been forgiven in my sins, just as I have forgiven those who have done this to me,” Roach said in a final statement addressed to his family and fellow Death Row inmates.

‘I Love You’

“To my family and friends, there is only three words to say: I love you. May God bless each and every one of you.”

With two dissenting votes, the Supreme Court late Thursday refused to grant a stay.

U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar; Joao Clemente Baena Soares, the secretary-general of the Organization of American States; Nobel Peace Prize winner Mother Teresa; Carter, and international human rights groups all had made appeals on Roach’s behalf.

About 220 death penalty proponents and 60 opponents gathered outside the century-old prison on the Congaree River in chilly predawn temperatures before the execution.

Laughed Nervously

Inside, Roach laughed nervously while waiting for the sentence to be carried out.

Roach had a last meal Thursday night of fried shrimp, hush puppies, French fries, tossed salad, cherry cheesecake and a soft drink.

Roach’s attorneys had argued that his life should be spared because he suffered from Huntington’s chorea, a mentally debilitating condition, and because international accords prohibit the execution of those younger than 18 at the time of their offense.