Virginia execution

In Jarratt, Johnile DuBois, a parolee convicted of killing a mentally handicapped convenience store clerk in 1991, was executed Monday night.

DuBois, 31, was put to death by injection at the Greensville Correctional Center a few hours after Gov. Jim Gilmore refused a clemency request. DuBois was pronounced dead at 9:09 p.m.

On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 7-2 to deny DuBois' final appeal and stay request.

Asked for a final statement, DuBois said: "I send love to my family and friends and everyone who knows them. That's it."

DuBois did not apologize to the victim or his family. Larry Traylor, a Department of Corrections spokesman, said 11 members of the victim's family witnessed the execution.

DuBois, who received no visits from relatives on Monday, smiled at 1 of the prison guards as he came into the death chamber. He spoke briefly to a minister before making his statement.

Outside the prison, 4 death penalty protesters lighted candles as the execution hour approached.

Gilmore has refused to stop any of Virginia's 8 executions since he took office in January. In a 2-paragraph statement, he said he thoroughly reviewed DuBois' clemency petition but found no reason to intervene.

DuBois and 3 teen-age accomplices robbed the In-A-Hurry store in Portsmouth on Nov. 20, 1991. DuBois was the only robber who was armed.

Store employee Philip C. Council, 39, suffered from mental handicaps because of a car accident. When he did not open the cash register quickly enough, the unarmed robbers jumped the counter and beat him. DuBois then shot Council in the chest.

DuBois, who was 25 at the time, was the father of 9 illegitimate children whom he did not support and earned $2,500 a month selling drugs, according to court records. He had been convicted of larceny, assault, firearm possession and probation violations prior to the shooting.

DuBois pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors. In return, a prosecutor promised not to seek the death penalty, but Circuit Judge Johnny E. Morrisson was not bound by the agreement and sentenced DuBois to death.

In 1995, Gilmore -- then the attorney general -- tried to have DuBois executed after a new federal law limited the amount of time death row inmates have to file appeals. Gilmore said DuBois had missed the appeal deadline and should be immediately executed. A day before the execution date, a federal appeals court ruled that the law could not be applied retroactively.

DuBois becomes the 8th condemned prisoner to be put to death in Virginia this year, and the 54th overall since the state resumed executions in 1982. Only Texas, with 156 executions, also since 1982, has executed more condemned prisoners.

Virginia has another 4 executions scheduled before the end of October. The state executed 9 people last year, more than any state except Texas.

DuBois also becomes the 44th condemned prisoner to be put to death this year in the USA, and the 476th overall since America resumed capital punishment on Jan. 17, 1977.

(sources: Associated Press & Rick Halperin)

By Frank Green - Times-Dispatch

He was pronounced dead at 9:09 p.m., said Larry Traylor, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Corrections. Traylor said 11 members of the victim's family witnessed the execution. 

Traylor said Dubois' last words were: "I send love to my family and friends and everyone who knows me." 

Dubois, 31, is the father of nine children out of wedlock and was on parole at the time of the slaying. He was sentenced to death even though he pleaded guilty before a judge and cooperated in the cases against co-defendants. In exchange for his plea and assistance, Commonwealth's Attorney Martin Bullock did not argue for the death penalty. 

However, Portsmouth Circuit Judge Johnny E. Morrison decided that Dubois, a drug dealer, would continue to be a "danger to others by virtue of his way of life," and sentenced Dubois to death. 

The U.S. Supreme Court voted 7-2 Friday to turn down his request for a stay of execution. Yesterday afternoon, Gov. Jim Gilmore turned down his request for executive clemency. 

"Upon a thorough review of the petition for clemency, the numerous court decisions regarding this case, and the circumstances of this matter, I decline to intervene," said Gilmore. 

Dubois turned down a request for an interview last month, and his lawyers, Joseph Bowman and Joseph McCarthy, both of Alexandria, declined to comment on the unusual case. Morrison and Bullock also did not return calls about the case yesterday. 

Dubois was the only one armed of four people who robbed the In-A-Hurry store on Nov. 20, 1991. Dubois was 25 at the time, and his accomplices were all teen-agers. 

Philip C. Council, 39, who suffered from mental and neurological difficulties because of a car wreck, was one of three employees working at the store at the time of the robbery. 

Council did not open the register quickly enough for the robbers, who jumped the counter and began beating him. Dubois shot Council in the chest, opened the register and stole $400. 

According to court records, Dubois had already fathered, out of wedlock, nine children he did not support and earned $2,500 a month selling drugs. 

In addition, he had been convicted of grand larceny in 1987, assault in 1990 and possession of a firearm in 1990, and he was on parole when he shot Council. He had also previously been convicted of two probation violations, and two charges of robbery and attempted robbery against him were not prosecuted. 

In rejecting the clemency petition, Gilmore said: "Dubois admitted killing Mr. Council and pled guilty to capital murder. The record shows that at all times Dubois was apprised that he could be sentenced to death by the judge." 

Dubois requested a special last meal but did not want the menu released to the public, said Traylor. He was not visited by friends or family yesterday. 

Robert Lee, a lawyer with the Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center, said Dubois' mother was critically ill and that most of his family lives in Rhode Island and Connecticut. However, Dubois met with his spiritual advisers yesterday, said Tammy Brown, a prison spokesman. 

Dubois' was the eighth execution in Virginia this year and 54th since the death penalty was allowed to resume by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976. Only Texas, with 156 executions, has had more.