Ronald Fitzgerald was executed by the State of Virginia for two murders
According to court documents Ronald Fitzgerald would go on a one day crime spree where he would sexually assault a thirteen year old teen and a eighteen year old teen. He would also fatally shoot his friend Coy White and murdered a taxi driver Hugh Morrison
Ronald Fitzgerald would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Ronald Fitzgerald would be executed by lethal injection on October 21 1998
Ronald Fitzgerald Photos
Ronald Fitzgerald Case
Ronald Lee Fitzgerald, who killed an acquaintance and a taxi driver during a one-day rampage that included two abductions and rapes, was executed tonight after declining to seek clemency from Gov. James S. Gilmore III (R).
Fitzgerald, 29, was pronounced dead at 9:08 p.m. after being administered an injection at the Greensville Correctional Center here. Speaking softly, he gave a lengthy final statement, telling his family he loved them, saying he was sorry for the killings and asking for forgiveness from the families of the victims.
“I hope that by me dying tonight, this will ease their pain,” he said.
Fitzgerald’s attorney, David J. Damico, said his client did not petition the governor for clemency because he knew that the killings in Southside Virginia were wrong. He said the decision also reflected Fitzgerald’s knowledge that Gilmore has not granted clemency in any capital punishment case since he took office in January
Damico said he believed that Fitzgerald felt “there’s no reason to think that Gilmore is going to change the position of his office.”
The Supreme Court voted 7 to 2 on Monday against postponing Fitzgerald’s execution to give the court more time to consider his appeal.
Fitzgerald was convicted of murder in the Jan. 29, 1993, slayings and robberies of acquaintance Coy M. White and a taxi driver, Hugh E. Morrison. Fitzgerald also was convicted of abducting and raping a 13-year-old girl on the same day at White’s Chatham home and an 18-year-old woman in the bathroom of an Altavista motel room while her children watched television.
Afterward, Fitzgerald hitched a ride to the Pittsylvania County Courthouse, where he stuck a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. The gun jammed, and police arrested him.
Fitzgerald’s execution was the 11th in Virginia this year, the most since 1915