By GARRY MITCHELL
Associated Press Writer
ATMORE, Ala. (AP) – Darrell Grayson faced execution by lethal injection Thursday for the 1980 killing of an 86-year-old widow in her Montevallo home, a death sentence Gov. Bob Riley refused to delay amid calls for DNA testing.
Grayson’s execution for the death of Annie Laura Orr was set for 6 p.m. (CDT) at Holman prison near Atmore.
Supporters of the 46-year-old Grayson, who was 19 at the time of the crime, rallied in Montgomery on Wednesday, urging Riley to intervene in order for DNA tests to determine if Grayson raped the elderly woman.
Grayson’s capital murder conviction did not include the rape accusation. But his supporters say it was an aggravating factor cited by prosecutors to get the death sentence and that DNA testing is warranted.
Riley, in a statement Thursday, refused requests to intervene. He said the elderly victim died a “horrifying death” and that Grayson’s own testimony and “the overwhelming physical evidence left a jury no doubt he perpetrated a cruel and monstrous crime upon a helpless elderly woman.”
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