Paul Warner Powell (April 13, 1978 – March 18, 2010) was a convicted murderer and rapist who was executed by the Commonwealth of Virginia in the state's electric chair.

Murder [ edit ]

On January 29, 1999, in Manassas, Virginia, 20-year-old Powell killed his 16-year-old friend, Stacie Reed, upon learning she had a black boyfriend. He first attempted to rape her and, when she fought off his advances, stabbed her in the chest, puncturing her heart. Powell then waited, while drinking iced tea and smoking, for Stacie's 14-year-old sister, Kristie Reed, to come home from school. When she arrived, Powell raped her, throttled her, stabbed her in the stomach, slashed her throat and left her for dead. After finding Stacie's body, the girls' stepfather frantically searched the house for the phone, and found Kristie in the basement. Kristie survived the attack, albeit with scars on her neck, and was able to testify against Powell.[1]

Trial [ edit ]

Powell was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death, but the verdict was thrown out on appeal by the Virginia Supreme Court when the court decided that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Powell attempted to rape Stacie and that there were no other aggravating factors that would warrant a death sentence: the fact that Kristie had been raped could not serve as a basis for making Stacie's killing a capital murder.[2] The conviction for the rape of Kristie Reed was upheld, and Powell was given three life sentences. Powell, believing that he no longer faced the death penalty because of double jeopardy, then wrote an abusive letter to the prosecutor and admitted that he attempted to rape Stacie and boasted about his crimes in detail,[3] among several other taunting or threatening letters he sent to the victims' family.

Using the letter that Powell wrote, prosecutors indicted Powell again for the rape and murder of Stacie Reed. Powell was once again convicted, and was sentenced to death.[2]

Execution [ edit ]

Powell chose to be executed by the electric chair instead of lethal injection. He made no final statement.[4] He was executed on March 18, 2010.

Trivia [ edit ]

Powell was nominated as an "At-Risk Survivor" by the Darwin Awards in 2003.[5]