Mississippi executed a man by lethal injection on Wednesday evening after he pleaded guilty to shooting and killing his estranged wife and sexually abusing his young stepdaughter in front of her dying mother. He was Mississippi's first prisoner to be executed in nine years.
David Cox was sentenced to death by a jury in 2012 after pleading guilty to capital murder in the shooting death of his estranged wife, Kim Cox. He admitted to a number of additional charges as well, including sexual assault.
In 2012, Cox pled guilty to capital murder for the shooting death of his estranged wife, Kim Kirk Cox, in May 2010. In addition, he admitted to a number of additional crimes, including sexual assault. The death penalty was imposed by a jury, as per Newsweek.
Man executed in Mississippi after admitting to murder, sexual assault crime
During the execution, Cox wore a red prison uniform and was covered by a white sheet. He was restrained by broad leather straps on a gurney. Cox seemed to take several deep breaths and his mouth moved slightly as the lethal chemicals began to pour into his body through a clear plastic tube. He was confirmed dead in a matter of minutes.
Cox's stepdaughter, who is now 23 years old, was there at the time of execution. On the night of May 14 and 15, 2010, she was 12 years old when he sexually molested her three times in front of her wounded mother in the little hamlet of Sherman, while holding them and one of her younger brothers as hostages.
In 2012, Mississippi carried out six executions. The state has no plans to execute any of the more than 30 convicts already on death row. Pharmaceutical companies began limiting the use of their medications in executions, making it more difficult for governments to obtain lethal injection supplies.
The Mississippi Department of Corrections acknowledged that it had purchased three drugs for the lethal injection procedure in court files earlier this year: midazolam, a sedative; vecuronium bromide, which paralyzes muscles; and potassium chloride, which stops the heart.
The medications indicated in the court papers were the ones used for the execution, Cain said on Tuesday. He wouldn't reveal how or where the department got them.
Before taking up his new position in Mississippi, Cain, the former head of the Louisiana state penitentiary at Angola, had observed multiple executions in that adjacent state. During Cox's execution, he stood beside him.
Mississippi Governor refutes a group's petitions to stop Cox's execution
Death Penalty Action, an anti-execution group, previously stated that killing an inmate who has surrendered all appeals would be "state-sponsored suicide." The group petitioned Republican Governor Tate Reeves to suspend Cox's execution, but Reeves' spokesman claimed the governor denied since Cox acknowledged to "horrific crimes."
In recent years, Cox was represented by attorneys from the Mississippi Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel. Cox issued a handwritten letter vehemently protesting to their ongoing engagement after the State Supreme Court set his execution date. Krissy C. Nobile, the agency's director, announced Tuesday that the office does not intend any additional appeals for David Cox after "considerable and arduous thought, and out of respect for David Cox's autonomy and stated desire."
Kim Cox's father, retired cop Benny Kirk, stated David Cox contacted him the night of the attack and reported he had shot Kim. Per CBS News, Benny Kirk was talking on the phone with his daughter when she said, "Daddy, I'm dying."
The house was surrounded by police, who sought to persuade David Cox to release his wife and two children. Kim Cox died following an experience that lasted more than eight hours.
The Associated Press does not normally name sexual assault victims, but Lindsey Kirk, Cox's stepdaughter, volunteered to be interviewed and speak about what occurred to her. Last week, she said that David Cox had sexually assaulted her for several years while her mother was away and that he threatened to murder them if she informed anybody.
Kirk texted her mother about her stepfather's attacks while living with her grandparents in the summer of 2009. Shortly after, David Cox was arrested and charged with statutory rape, sexual offences, child abuse, and possession of methamphetamine. He was released in April 2010 without being placed on trial. After getting a restraining order against him, Kim Cox moved in with her sister.
After the execution, Kim Cox's family did not release a comment. Questions lingered before David Cox's execution regarding whether he was involved in the 2007 disappearance of his brother's wife, Felicia Cox, who was last seen in a nearby county.
Her daughter, Amber Miskelly, recently informed WTVA-TV that David Cox was the last person who saw her mother alive. After the execution, Cain claimed that David Cox had made no mention of his sister-in-law's abduction.
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