Jeffrey Ferguson Executed in MO: 'I Pray for the Victim's Family to Have Peace,' Killer Says Before Death
A Missouri inmate was put to death earlier this morning after being on death row for over 20 years. His death brought closure to the victim's family, but those against the death penalty believe it was an unnecessary execution.
"She was 17 years old. She had her life in front of her," Jim Hall, Kelli Hall's father told reporters at the execution. "It's been a very long 25 years waiting for this execution. Hopefully, we can now move forward."
Kelli Hall was just 17 when she was kidnapped by Ferguson and an accomplice. Her beaten and broken body was found by a farmer 13 days later. She had been abused, raped, and strangled before being discarded.
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Ferguson's initial conviction was overturned in 1992 due to a jury misunderstanding. However, he was convicted in a second trial and sentenced to death. The Supreme Court denied any last-minute appeals and he was led into the execution chamber just before midnight, Central Time. As he was strapped the gurney, Ferguson attempted to lighten the mood by making funny faces.
"At this point in my life, I believe that I am the best man that I've ever been," Ferguson said in a final statement. "I'm sorry to have to be the cause that brings you all into this dark business of execution. I pray for the victim's family to have peace in their hearts one day and lose the anger, hate and need for revenge that has driven them."
"Society doesn't gain anything by his execution," Rita Linhardt of Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty said on Tuesday. "He's not the same man he was 24 years ago."
Linhardt and other Ferguson supporters said that the inmate had expressed deep and sincere remorse for his crime and had changed while behind bars. He reportedly helped counsel fellow inmates and worked in the prison's hospice system. However, it was not enough to convince officials that his life should be spared.
"Kelli Hall was only 17 when she was abducted from her workplace, raped and brutally murdered," Governor Jay Nixon said in a statement. "Her life, so full of promise, was brutally taken from her and her family. The jury that convicted Jeffrey Ferguson of Kelli's murder found that the aggravating circumstances for this crime warranted the death penalty. My decision today upholds that appropriate sentence."
