Mississippi executed Charles Crawford, 59, on Wednesday for the 1993 kidnapping, rape and murder of 20-year-old Kristy Ray. He was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Parchman after more than 30 years on death row. Minutes before, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to halt the execution; Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented with two colleagues. Crawford’s attorneys argued his 1994 trial violated his Sixth Amendment rights, a claim Mississippi courts rejected. His death was the third U.S. execution in two days, bringing this year’s total to 38.

Prepared by Emily Rhodes and reviewed by editorial team.