A death row inmate who has spent more than 30 years on death row at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola has died of an illness. Christopher Sepulvado, 81, was the DeSoto Parish man sentenced to death for the beating and scalding death of his 6-year-old stepson in 1992. Sepulvado was the first inmate scheduled to be executed after the state's decision to resume executions after a 15-year pause. According to his attorney, Shawn Nolan, the state scheduled to execute Sepulvado on March 17 despite doctors saying he was terminally ill and recommended hospice care for him. Nolan issued a statement on Sepulvado death: "Christopher Sepulvado's death overnight in the prison infirmary is a sad comment on the state of the death penalty in Louisiana. The idea that the State was planning to strap this tiny, frail, dying old man to a chair and force him to breathe toxic gas into his failing lungs is simply barbaric. Such pointless cruelty in scheduling his execution in the face of all this overlooked the hard work Chris did over his decades in prison to confront the harm he had caused, to become a better person, and to devote himself to serving God and helping others. It was my honor to fight for Chris, a man who redeemed himself. May he rest in peace."Attorney General Liz Murrill issued a statement on Sepulvado death:"Justice should have been delivered long ago for the heinous act of brutally beating then scalding to death a defenseless six year old boy. The State failed to deliver it in his lifetime but Christopher Sepulvado now faces ultimate judgment before God in the hereafter."
A death row inmate who has spent more than 30 years on death row at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola has died of an illness.
Christopher Sepulvado, 81, was the DeSoto Parish man sentenced to death for the beating and scalding death of his 6-year-old stepson in 1992.
Sepulvado was the first inmate scheduled to be executed after the state's decision to resume executions after a 15-year pause.
According to his attorney, Shawn Nolan, the state scheduled to execute Sepulvado on March 17 despite doctors saying he was terminally ill and recommended hospice care for him.
Nolan issued a statement on Sepulvado death:
"Christopher Sepulvado's death overnight in the prison infirmary is a sad comment on the state of the death penalty in Louisiana. The idea that the State was planning to strap this tiny, frail, dying old man to a chair and force him to breathe toxic gas into his failing lungs is simply barbaric. Such pointless cruelty in scheduling his execution in the face of all this overlooked the hard work Chris did over his decades in prison to confront the harm he had caused, to become a better person, and to devote himself to serving God and helping others. It was my honor to fight for Chris, a man who redeemed himself. May he rest in peace."
Attorney General Liz Murrill issued a statement on Sepulvado death:
"Justice should have been delivered long ago for the heinous act of brutally beating then scalding to death a defenseless six year old boy. The State failed to deliver it in his lifetime but Christopher Sepulvado now faces ultimate judgment before God in the hereafter."