Execution date set for man who killed Virginia security officer, deputy sheriff
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. May 10 2017– William Morva, the man convicted of killing a Montgomery County sheriff’s corporal and a Montgomery Regional Hospital security officer is set to be executed.
Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Robert Turk granted Attorney General Mark Herring’s request to set Morva’s execution for July 6, 2017 during a teleconference Tuesday afternoon.
This follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal in February to hear Morva’s last appeal.
Morva was in jail in the summer of 2006 awaiting trial on burglary charges when he said he needed medical attention. He escaped custody at the hospital and then killed security officer Derrick McFarland with his own gun.
A manhunt followed, with Corporal Eric Sutphin later spotting Morva on the Huckleberry Trail. Morva shot and killed Sutphin. Morva was later found hiding in a nearby ditch.
Attorneys for Morva released a statement shortly after Wednesday’s ruling, describing Morva as a severely mentally ill man and saying “justice is not served” by executing him.
“Virginia is poised to execute a man who is so severely mentally ill that a court-appointed forensic psychiatrist found he was incapable of rationally communicating with his attorneys,” said attorney Dawn M. Davison, in the statement. “Justice is not served by executing a severely mentally ill man. We urge Governor McAuliffe to act with compassion and use his power to stop this unjust execution.”
Morva will be executed at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt.
The time will be determined by the Department of Corrections.
