Man convicted of murdering 9-year-old girl and executed in Missouri

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A man convicted of raping and murdering a nine-year-old girl is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday in the Midwestern state of Missouri.

Christopher Collings, 49, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 6:00 p.m. Central Time (0000 GMT) at the state prison in Bonne Terre.

Collings was convicted of murdering Rowan Ford, a friend’s stepdaughter, in November 2007 in the rural town of Stella.

Her body was thrown into a hole in the ground and found a few days later.

Collings’ lawyers had asked the Supreme Court for a last-minute stay of execution, but the request was denied.

They argued that the police chief who obtained Collings’ confession and was the key witness in his trial had a checkered past and lacked credibility.

In addition, the girl’s stepfather, David Spears, confessed to being involved in the girl’s death but was not charged with murder.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson rejected Collings’ request for clemency, paving the way for his execution.

“Mr. Collings has received all the protections afforded by the constitutions of Missouri and the United States, and Mr. Collings’ conviction and sentence for his terrible and cruel crime stands,” Parson said.

“There was and never has been any doubt about Collings’ involvement or the heinousness of his crimes.”

There have been 22 executions in the United States this year, including three in Missouri.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while six others – Arizona, California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee – have moratoriums in place.

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