U.S.: Rapid City mom puts last hope in pope's letter for son on Texas' death row

A Rapid City mother whose son will be executed by the state of Texas on May 12 said Wednesday that she has little hope that a possible plea for clemency from Pope Benedict XVI to Gov. Rick Perry will convince the Texas governor to spare her son's life.

"Who knows whether it will mean anything to Gov. Perry?" Beth Varga said of the attempt by a Rome organization that opposes the death penalty to involve the Vatican.

Kevin Varga, 41, is scheduled to die on May 12 at the Huntsville State Prison in Texas for the 1998 beating murder of David Logie during a robbery.

An Italian woman, Stefania Silva, asked the Vatican to intervene on Varga's behalf. Silva received a letter from the office of Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Bertone dated April 21 promising that her request had been forwarded to the Papal Nuncio in Washington, D.C., who may forward a clemency plea in the name of Pope Benedict to both the governor and the Texas Board of Pardons. Varga's case has garnered attention in the Italian media because of efforts by Silva and her Comitato Paul Rougeau, an anti-death penalty group.

The letter, translated from Italian, states: "I want to inform you that this matter has been brought to the attention of the Papal Nuncio in Washington indicating the possibility to ask in the name of the Holy Father clemency to both the Governor and the Board of Pardons."

"I wouldn't have had the guts, or the pull, to write the Pope," said Beth Varga, who is not Catholic. Her family, Jewish by birth, and has lived in Mobridge, Sioux Falls and Rapid City over the years, she said. Varga has lived in Rapid City and worked at Wal-Mart for the past three years until moving to Texas a month ago to be near her son as his execution date approaches. Kevin Varga's brother, Sean, and his son, Stephan, 20, currently live in Rapid City.

"I'm trying to save his life," said Varga, who is resigned, but not prepared, to witness her son's execution. "You're never prepared for this. I've already buried two children, and you're never prepared for it."

Varga lost a 6-year old son to leukemia and her eldest son, Richard, was shot to death at the age of 18 in Texas. Kevin was 16 when his older brother died and he soon fell into a life of crime, his mother said. "Kevin's been in and out of trouble his whole life."

Convicted of capital murder, Varga maintains that he was present at the robbery but not involved in the beating death of Logie. He and three other people were convicted in Logie's death in Texas. They committed a similar robbery-murder in Wichita, Kan., prior to Logie's death. Billy Galloway is scheduled to die the day after Varga for his role in the murder.

"One of the reasons we're trying so hard to save his life is that Kevin was found guilty of being there, and the death penalty seems too harsh a punishment for that," Beth Varga said.

Varga is opposed to the death penalty in all cases, even for Galloway, who she believes did the actual killing of David Logie.

She is not expecting a stay of execution, but she is hoping for a miracle. "From everything we know now, Kevin will die very soon," she said. "But if God wants to spare Kevin's life, then nothing Gov. Perry can do will prevent that."

"This is my opinion of Gov. Perry. He and Hitler are going to share a little spot in Hell. The man kills people... and then washes his hands of it," she said.

Source: RapidCityJournal, April 28, 2010

Kevin Varga's "Death Watch Journal" can be read here.

Comments

China executes 11 members of gang who ran billion-dollar criminal empire in Myanmar

China has executed 11 members of the notorious Ming family criminal gang, who ran mafia-like scam centers in Myanmar and killed workers who tried to escape, Chinese state media reported on Thursday. The Ming family was one of the so-called 4 families of northern Myanmar — crime syndicates accused of running hundreds of compounds dealing in internet fraud, prostitution and drug production, and whose members held prominent positions in the local government and militia aligned with Myanmar’s ruling junta.

Florida | Man convicted of leaving girl to be eaten by gators avoids death penalty

After about 4 hours of deliberations, jurors on Friday recommended Harrel Braddy should be sentenced to life in prison for the 1998 killing of 5-year-old Quantisha Maycock. A South Florida man who dropped off a 5-year-old child in the Everglades to be eaten alive by gators nearly 3 decades ago was given a second chance at life as jurors recommended he should spend the rest of his life behind bars instead of being sent to death row. After about four hours of deliberations, jurors on Friday recommended Harrel Braddy should be sentenced to life in prison for the 1998 killing of 5-year-old Quantisha Maycock.

Federal Judge Rules Out Death Penalty for Luigi Mangione in UnitedHealth CEO Killing

NEW YORK — A federal judge has dismissed two charges against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, effectively removing the possibility of the death penalty in the high-profile case. U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett ruled Friday that the murder charge through use of a firearm — the only count that could have carried a capital sentence — was legally incompatible with the remaining interstate stalking charges against Mangione.

Georgia parole board suspends scheduled execution of Cobb County death row prisoner

The execution of a Georgia man scheduled for Wednesday has been suspended as the State Board of Pardons and Paroles considers a clemency application. Stacey Humphreys, 52, would have been the state's first execution in 2025. As of December 16, 2025, Georgia has carried out zero executions in 2025. The state last executed an inmate in January 2020, followed by a pause due to COVID-19. Executions resumed in 2024, but none have occurred this year until now. Humphreys had been sentenced to death for the 2003 killings of 33-year-old Cyndi Williams and 21-year-old Lori Brown, who were fatally shot at the real estate office where they worked.

California | Convicted killer Scott Peterson keeps swinging in court — but expert says he’s not going anywhere but his cell

More than two decades after Laci Peterson vanished from her Modesto, California, home, the murder case that captivated the nation continues to draw legal challenges, public debate and renewed attention. As the year comes to a close, Scott Peterson, convicted in 2004 of murdering his pregnant wife and their unborn son Conner, remains behind bars, serving life without the possibility of parole. His wife disappeared on Christmas Eve in 2002, and a few months later, the remains of Laci and Conner were found in the San Francisco Bay.

Oklahoma board recommends clemency for inmate set to be executed next week

A voting board in Oklahoma decided Wednesday to recommend clemency for Tremane Wood, a death row inmate who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next week at the state penitentiary in McAlester. Wood, 46, faces execution for his conviction in the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker, at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year's Eve, court records show. The recommendation was decided in a 3-2 vote by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, consisting of five members appointed by either the governor or the state's top judicial official, according to CBS News affiliate KWTV. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Sitt will consider the recommendation as he weighs whether to grant or deny Wood's clemency request, which would mean sparing him from execution and reducing his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Death toll in Iran protests could exceed 30,000

In an exclusive report, the American magazine TIME cited two senior officials from the Iranian Ministry of Health, who stated that the scale of the crackdown against protesters on January 18 and 19 was so widespread that 18-wheeler trailers replaced ambulances. In its report, based on testimony from these two high-ranking officials, TIME revealed statistics that differ vastly from the official narrative of the Islamic Republic.

The US reporter who has witnessed 14 executions: ‘People need to know what it looks like’

South Carolina-based journalist Jeffrey Collins observed back-to-back executions in 2025 after the state revived the death penalty following a 13-year pause Jeffrey Collins has watched 14 men draw their final breaths. Over 25 years at the Associated Press, the South Carolina-based journalist has repeatedly served as an observer inside the state’s execution chamber, watching from feet away as prison officials kill men who were sentenced to capital punishment. South Carolina has recently kept him unusually busy, with seven back-to-back executions in 14 months.

Florida's second execution of 2026 scheduled for February

Florida’s second execution of 2026, a man convicted of killing a grocery story owner, will take place in February. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant Jan. 23 for Melvin Trotter, 65, to die by lethal injection Feb. 24. Florida's first execution will take place just a few weeks earlier when Ronald Palmer Heath is set to die Feb. 10. Trotter was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1987 for strangling and stabbing Virgie Langford a year earlier in Palmetto.

China executes another four members of powerful Myanmar-based crime family

China has executed another four members of a powerful Myanmar-based crime family that oversaw 41 pig butchering scam* compounds across Southeast Asia. The executed individuals were members of the Bai family, a particularly powerful gang that ruled the Laukkai district and helped transform it into a hub for casinos, trafficking, scam compounds, and prostitution. China’s Supreme People’s Court approved the executions after 21 members were charged with homicide, kidnapping, extortion, operating a fraudulent casino, organizing illegal border crossings, and forced prostitution. The court said the Bai family made over $4 billion across its enterprise and killed six Chinese citizens.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog