Georgia to execute man convicted of killing store clerk in 1994

[October 30, 2019]  By Brendan O'Brien

(Reuters) - A man convicted of shooting and killing a U.S. convenience store clerk while stealing two 12-packs of beer with two other men more than 20 years ago is scheduled to be executed in Georgia on Wednesday.

Ray Cromartie, 52, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 7 p.m. ET (2300 GMT) at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson for the shooting death of convenience store clerk Richard Slysz in 1994.

On April 7 that year, Cromartie borrowed a gun from his cousin and went to the Madison Street Deli in Thomasville and shot and wounded store clerk, Dan Wilson, in the face, court papers said.

Three days later, Cromartie and his friends Corey Clark and Thaddeus Lucas went to Junior Food Store in Thomasville, Georgia to steal beer. When the pair entered the store, Cromartie shot Slysz twice in the head, killing him, prosecutors said.

Cromartie and Clark tried to open the cash register but were unsuccessful. Cromartie then took two 12-packs of Budweiser beer and the men fled, according to court papers.

Cromartie was arrested three days later. During the trial, Clark and Lucas testified against Cromartie. Both men pleaded guilty to lesser charges, court papers showed.

Cromartie has filed unsuccessful appeals with state and federal courts on several grounds since his conviction. The State Board of Pardons and Paroles in Georgia refused to stay his case and denied Cromartie clemency on Tuesday.

Cromartie requested the board to intervene so federal courts could rule on his request that DNA testing be done on evidence in his criminal case.

Ray Cromartie, convicted of shooting and killing a convenience store clerk more than 20 years ago, is seen in this undated handout photo taken at an unknown location. Georgia Department of Corrections/Handout via REUTERS

The United States Supreme Court rejected Cromartie's request for an appeal in his case in December 2018.

Cromartie would be the 18th inmate in the United States and the third inmate in Georgia to be executed in 2019, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.