USA: Charles Crawford (Mississippi) and Richard Djerf (Arizona) executed this week

Two more death sentences were carried out in the USA this week following Tuesday’s double execution. After Florida and Missouri, it was Charles Crawford in Mississippi and Richard Djerf in Arizona whose lives were ended by the state.

Charles Crawford (Mississippi)

On Wednesday evening, 59-year-old Charles Ray Crawford was executed by lethal injection in the US state of Mississippi. He was sentenced to death for the kidnapping, rape and murder of a 20-year-old college student in 1993.

Crawford’s attorneys tried unsuccessfully to prevent their client’s execution, arguing that his defense attorneys in the original trial had committed a serious legal error:

They had presented Crawford as guilty against his express wishes – probably with the intention of having him declared insane at the time of the crime. However, your client had stated both to his lawyers and in court that he did not intend to plead guilty.

Disregarding his will is considered a violation of their client’s constitutional rights under a 2018 precedent, Crawford’s lawyers said.

“To my family, I love you. I am at peace. I have God’s peace. To the victim’s family: true reconciliation and true peace – you can’t have that without God. Thank you God for giving me the peace that I have,” Crawford said as his final words.

Richard Djerf (Arizona)

On Friday morning, 55-year-old Richard Djerf was executed by lethal injection in the US state of Arizona. He was sentenced to death for the 1993 murder of a family in Phoenix – the father, mother, 15-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son.

Only the older son escaped the series of murders because he was not at home at the time of the crime. At the same time, this older son – Djerf’s roommate – was the reason for the crime, because Djerf believed that he had stolen electronic devices and a firearm from him.

Djerf was obsessed with getting revenge and months later went to the family home pretending to deliver flowers, prosecutors said.

His appeals lawyers argued their client suffered from an undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder and brain damage at the time of the crime.

In September, Djerf told a newspaper in a handwritten statement that he would not ask for his life before the clemency board and that he hoped his death would bring “some measure of peace”.

“I would prefer this not to happen, but I lost that decision 32 years ago. The only thing I can do is face up to my actions and accept this punishment with as much dignity as possible.”

Djerf said he hoped that the focus would shift to his victims after his death. “They are the ones who should be remembered, not me,” he wrote.

The elder son was not among the witnesses to the execution, nor was he available to speak to the media beforehand.

Sources:
https://www.wandtv.com/news/national/mississippi-executes-a-man-convicted-of-raping-and-killing-a-college-student/article_ca9f9029-e559-56d2-a766-11a649930ba1.html
https://eu.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/local/2025/10/15/mississippi-executes-charles-ray-crawford-second-execution-this-year-in-ms/86669928007/
https://eu.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2025/10/17/richard-djerf-execution-lethal-injection-1993-murder-case/86572054007/
https://www.azfamily.com/2025/10/17/man-executed-1993-murder-phoenix-family/