Missouri: Michael Tisius executed – despite several jurors changing their minds
On Tuesday night, 42-year-old Michael Tisius was executed by lethal injection in the U.S. state of Missouri. He was sentenced to death for shooting two prison guards at a county jail in 2000.
Tisius had been incarcerated there himself and committed the crime while trying to free a fellow inmate after his release, along with his girlfriend.
In written last words, Tisius said he had since worked hard to become a better person and expressed his sincere remorse.
His attorneys had unsuccessfully argued that one of the jurors was illiterate, which was contrary to Missouri law.
They also pointed out that their client had developed much for the better since committing the murders as an immature 19-year-old, and that typically his childhood background – neglected by his mother, abandoned by his father, callously and viciously beaten by his brother, already living on the streets without a home as a teenager – contributed significantly to his trajectory.
The fellow inmate he had tried to free stated from prison that he himself had planned the escape and incited Tisius to commit the crime.
According to media reports, several of the jurors who had voted for the death sentence said today they were in favor of a life sentence instead and would agree if the Missouri governor pardoned him accordingly. But Republican Governor Parson refused and allowed the sentence to be carried out.
Sources:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michael-tisius-missouri-man-execution-murder-2-unarmed-jail-guards-juror-regrets/
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/jurors-who-sentenced-michael-tisius-to-death-express-regret