Georgia executes William Sallie

William Sallie

A Georgia man who shot and killed his father-in-law before abducting his estranged wife and her sister became the ninth man executed by the state this year.

William Sallie, 50, died by lethal injection at 10:05 p.m. Tuesday at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson.

His execution had been scheduled for 7 p.m. But the state waited to hear from the U.S. Supreme Court on whether Sallie's execution would be stayed.

In his final statement, Sallie apologized for his crime and asked for forgiveness. He accepted a final prayer before the deadly dose of drugs was administered.

Sallie was sentenced to death for the March 1990 murder of John Moore.

He had already abducted his 2-year-old son and moved to Illinois when he returned to Georgia and rented a mobile home in Liberty County under an assumed name.

He had a friend buy a 9-millimeter pistol for him and, on March 28, 1990, went to the home of John and Linda Moore — his estranged wife, Robin's parents — where he cut the phone line while Robin was talking to her boyfriend.

At about 12:45 a.m., Sallie pried open a back door of the home, went into the master bedroom and shot John and Linda Moore. John was hit six times, including two shots that damaged his heart, and died.

Linda was shot in the thumb, the shoulder and both thighs.

Sallie went outside to reload and Robin and her 17-year-old sister, April, pleaded with him to let them get help for her parents.

Instead, he re-entered the home and handcuffed a bleeding Linda Moore to Justin, Robin's 9-year-old brother. He then bound Robin and April to each other with handcuffs and duct tape.

He took the two of them to his Liberty County mobile home, where he assaulted them both.

After a few hours, Linda and Justin managed to get themselves free and get to a neighbor, who called police.

Sallie released Robin and April in Bacon County the night of March 29, after asking them not to press charges. He was arrested shortly thereafter.

Sallie became the 68th inmate executed in Georgia since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.

He was the 46th inmate put to death by lethal injection. There are presently 58 men under death sentence in Georgia.

This year, Georgia has nearly doubled its records for executions. The death penalty was carried out five times last year.

Source: Loganville Patch, December 7, 2016

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