Governor Rendell Signs Execution Warrants for Jerome Marshall and William L. Wright

Governor Rendell Signs Execution Warrants for Jerome Marshall and William L.
Wright

HARRISBURG, Pa., July 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Edward G. Rendell
today signed execution warrants for Jerome Marshall, 46, who murdered three
people, including a 2-year-old girl, in 1983 in Philadelphia; and William L.
Wright III, 46, who in 1998 shot to death the husband of an Altoona woman with
whom he had an affair.

In 1983, Marshall was living with Sharon Saunders, her 2-year-old daughter,
Karima, and Saunders' cousin Myndie McKoy, while Saunders' husband was away in
the Army. Marshall confessed to police to killing the three females, and in
1984, a jury returned three first-degree murder convictions against Marshall,
sentencing him to death. After several rounds of appeals, the state Supreme
Court finally denied Marshall's request for relief under the Post Conviction
Relief Act and denied reargument in December 2008.

Wright briefly had a romantic relationship with Tammy Mowery while she was
separated from her husband, James, but the couple later reconciled. On the
morning of November 26, 1998, Wright broke into the Mowerys' house and shot
James three times in the back and two times in the head. In 2000, a jury found
Wright guilty of first-degree murder, simple assault, aggravated assault, two
counts of reckless endangerment, burglary, and criminal trespass and sentenced
him to death. The state Supreme Court affirmed that judgment in December 2008.

Marshall's execution by lethal injection is set for Sept. 1, and Wright's is
set for Sept. 3. Both are held at the State Correctional Institution at
Greene.

With the warrants signed today, Governor Rendell has now signed 94 death
warrants.

The Rendell administration is committed to creating a first-rate public
education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing
economic investment to support our communities and businesses.To find out more
about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his newsletter, visit
www.governor.state.pa.us.
CONTACT:
Chuck Ardo
717-783-1116

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor

Chuck Ardo of the Pennsylvania Office of the Governor, +1-717-783-1116