Missouri executes Christopher Collings

JEFFERSON CITY — Christopher Collings, 49, was executed at state prison in Bonne Terre at 6 p.m. on Tuesday for the sexual assault and murder of a 9-year-old girl dating back to 2007.

"Right or wrong I accept this situation for what it is," Collings said in a written final statement. "To anyone that I have hurt in this life I am sorry. I hope that you are able to get closure and move on."

Collings was convicted of first-degree murder for raping and strangling 9-year-old Rowan Ford with chicken wire before throwing her into a sinkhole.

In an April news release, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said, "the jury found Collings tortured the victim in a way that was vile, horrible, and inhumane."

'The evening of November 2, 2007'

Collings confessed to killing the child who referred to him as “Uncle Chris,” after living with the child's family in Stella for several months.

On the night of November 2, 2007, Ford's stepfather David Spears was drinking with friends as her mother was working an overnight shift at Walmart.

According to the Missouri Supreme Court, Collings said he drank five six-packs of Smirnoff Ice and smoked marijuana on the night of the crimes.

Collings said later that evening, he picked up Ford while she was sleeping, took her to his trailer and proceeded with the assault in Newton County.

Afterwards, he threw the victim's body into a sinkhole in McDonald County, and burned evidence include the rope he used to strangle the victim, the blood-strained clothing he wore in the attack, and his blood-stained mattress.

"The jury also found that Collings murdered the victim to prevent her from testifying against him regarding the rape," Bailey said in the release.

'Recounting Missouri's capital punishment history'

Gov. Mike Parson denied clemency for Collings on Monday, after the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal on behalf of Collings. The clemency petition said an abnormality of Collings’ brain causes him to suffer from “functional deficits in awareness, judgment and deliberation, comportment, appropriate social inhibition, and emotional regulation.”

"Mr. Collings has received every protection afforded by the Missouri and United States Constitutions, and Mr. Collings' conviction and sentence remain for his horrendous and callous crime," Parson wrote in his decision on Monday.

Collings's lawyers had asked the Supreme Court for a last-minute stay of execution but it was denied.

The attorneys for Collings had argued that the police chief, who obtained their client's confession and was the primary witness at his trial, had a troubled history and lacked credibility.

In addition, they said, the girl's stepfather, David Spears, confessed to involvement in her death but did not face murder charges.

A handful of people from Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty lined the walls outside of the governors office on Tuesday ahead of the execution.

"There were so many different constitutional violations throughout his case, there were issues with witnesses and discovery not being handed over," said Elyse Max, Co-Director of Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty. "There was mitigation about his childhood, his abuse (and) his brain development that was not heard by a jury."

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Missouri ranks as the 3rd highest state in the country as of 2023 with the most executions.

In Missouri, the death penalty was first used in 1810. From 1810-1965, Missouri carried out a total of 185 executions. Tuesday's was the fourth execution in Missouri in 2024, and the 23rd execution in the U.S. this year.

"My guess is Missouri will continue to carry out death sentences, it's unlikely that the politics around it will change," University of Missouri political science Professor Peverill Squire said.

Over the course of many years, Squire said the controversial execution cases that have occurred with "serious reservations." But Squire believes things will most likely remain the same.

"Here in Missouri, unless there is a particularly egregious case that gets carried out, we probably won't see any dramatic shift in public opinion," Squire said.

Source: komu.com, Bethany Cates, December 4, 2024

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
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