Supreme court grants stay of execution for man in Jones County execution

GRAY, Georgia (41NBC/WGMT) -The U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay of execution for Keith Tharpe just before 11:00 p.m., Tuesday night.

According to a CNN article, justices granted the stay while they decide whether or not they will accept Tharpe’s appeal.

He asked for a stay of execution due to racist comments from a juror, who has passed away.

CNN said according to an interview, juror Barney Gattie, referred to Tharpe as the n-word and also questioned “if black people even have souls.” Tharpe’s lawyer argued this created a bias from Gattie violating Tharpe’s constitutional rights to a fair trail.

Also, Thape’s lawyer argued Tharpe is mentally disabled making him ineligible for execution.

We’ll have more details as this story develops.

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A man who killed his sister-in-law will be executed tonight at 7:00 p.m.

According to the AP wire, Keith Leroy Tharpe will be executed at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia for killing Jacquelyn Freeman in September of 1990 in Jones County.

According to the Department of Corrections’ website, Tharpe was charged two counts of kidnapping and one count of murder in Jones County.

Tharpe reportedly stopped his estranged wife and her sister as they were driving to work. He ordered them to get out of the car, grabbed his sister-in-law and then shot Freeman. CNN reported Tharpe then threw Freeman in a ditch and shot her again. After that, Tharpe raped his wife and took her to withdraw money from a credit union. His wife was able to call the police for help at the credit union.

According to news release from the Supreme Court of Georgia, Tharpe was denied a stay of execution, or delaying of a court order, regarding the execution. A 6-to-3 vote determined Tharpe’s fate of execution by lethal injection.

The release said the Butts County Superior Court denied Tharpe’s challenge to his death sentence.

The AP wire states Tharpe will be the second inmate executed in Georgia this year. The state executed nine people last year.