Larry Stout was executed by the State of Virginia for the murder of Jacqueline Kooshian
According to court documents Larry Stout would rob a dry cleaning establishment where he would shoot and kill the owner Jacqueline Kooshian
Larry Stout would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Larry Stout would be executed by lethal injection on December 10 1996
Larry Stout Photos
Larry Stout Case
Larry Stout, calling friends in his final hours to say goodbye, was executed tonight for murdering a Staunton, Va., shopkeeper nine years ago.
Stout, 33, was put to death by injection at the Greensville Correctional Center here. He was the sixth person Virginia has executed this year and the second of five scheduled this month. He was pronounced dead at 9:12 p.m.
“I’m sorry to the family for the pain I have caused,” Stout said in a final statement. “I hope this closes the chapter on this. To my wife, I love you. Sunshine, I love you. Be tough.”
About a dozen protesters, some carrying candles, waited outside the prison gates, singing. Among them was the “Sunshine” in Stout’s final statement, Sunshine Richards, a friend from Nelson County.
Richards said she began writing to Stout several years ago and visited him several times, including earlier today. She said his wife lives in England
He said he was ready to go. He was prepared to go. He said it was his time,” Richards said.
Stout met with his minister and lawyers as the execution hour approached. Gov. George Allen (R) denied him clemency this afternoon. The U.S. Supreme Court had rejected his final appeal earlier in the day.
Stout pleaded guilty to slashing the throat of Jacqueline Kooshian on Feb. 17, 1987, during a $1,200 robbery at her dry-cleaning shop in Staunton. Kooshian, 40, was the mother of two.
“There is no question that Stout murdered Mrs. Kooshian during his robbery of her store,” Allen said in a statement.
Allen rejected Stout’s argument that he received poor legal help at trial. “These are important issues that must be considered, and they have been fully litigated and thoroughly considered in the courts,” he said
The Supreme Court voted 7 to 2 to reject Stout’s request for a stay, with justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and John Paul Stevens dissenting. The court also turned down a separate appeal by Stout.
“Larry was mentally very well-prepared for his execution,” said Michele Brace, one of Stout’s attorneys. “I think that Larry was given a very strong message when he was young that his life was worthless. The execution is just another step along that way.”
Stout grew up half-white, half-black in an otherwise all-white family. His stepfather, a paroled murderer, would not let him appear in public with the rest of the family. His mother tried to give him away, but no one would have him.
About 35 people marched at the entrance to the State Capitol grounds in Richmond today to implore Allen to stop the execution. “Allen, Allen, the world is watching you,” they chanted
In his clemency petition, Stout contended that his trial lawyer told him he would not be executed if he pleaded guilty. He also argued that the stabbing was an unpremeditated reflex when Kooshian suddenly raised her arms.
“My lawyer didn’t put on no defense for me,” Stout said last month in a death row interview. “My lawyer told me if I pleaded guilty I wouldn’t get the death sentence. He said, Own up to the crime and be a man.’ “
