At almost the last possible moment, Missouri Governor Bob Holden stayed the execution of convicted hit man Daniel Basile after an unidentified alibi witness stepped forward, according to a Department of Corrections representative.
Basile late on Tuesday was within minutes of being executed by lethal injection at the Potosi Correctional Center. His execution was scheduled for one minute after midnight.
The stay will allow state and federal courts to consider the new evidence, but the execution could still proceed at any time.
Basile’s death sentence has already been appealed and confirmed by those same courts.
In 1992, Basile was hired by Richard DeCaro to murder his wife Elizabeth. On March 6, DeCaro, who had recently purchased a $100 000 life insurance policy on his wife, picked up their four children and the family dog and drove them to a resort, leaving Elizabeth alone in the house.
Basile entered the house, forced Elizabeth DeCaro to her knees and shot her twice point blank in the back of the neck. Later that day Basile was seen driving the DeCaros’ SUV.
Basile bragged to others about the murder and gave a friend property he took from the house. Basile was convicted of first degree murder. In a separate state
trial Richard DeCaro was acquitted. Both Basile and DeCaro were later tried on federal charges and found guilty. DeCaro is now serving a sentence of life without parole.
Basile has maintained his innocence. Members of the victim’s family were on hand to witness the aborted execution.
In a related development, St. Louis televangelist Reverend Larry Rice has sued the state of Missouri to open executions to television cameras.
Rice, who runs a television station, is a death penalty opponent and believes that public support for capital punishment would decline if people could witness an execution. – Sapa-AFP