Death Penalty in Missouri: Man Executed After Orchestrating 1993 Murder of Elderly Couple to Steal Their Cows
Fifty-seven-year-old William Rousan took his last breath around midnight on Wednesday as the state of Missouri carried out his execution just miles away from the farm where prosecutors say he killed an elderly couple in 1993 in order to steal their cows.
Rousan, who was convicted for killing a rural Missouri couple, died by lethal injection at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center at Bonne Terre. According to the Associated Press, his last words were, "My trials and transgressions have been many. But thanks be to my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, I have a new home in his heavenly kingdom."
As the drug pentobarbital was administered at approximately 12:01 a.m., Rousan took two deep breaths and was then still. He was pronounced dead at 12:10 a.m.
Rousan was sentenced to death for the murder of 62-year-old Grace Lewis and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of her husband, 67-year-old Charles Lewis. Rousan, his then-16-year-old son Brent Rousan and his brother Robert Rousan accompanied him in his murder plot to steal cattle from the couple's farm near Bonne Terre on Sept. 21, 1993. At the time, Rousan lived in the same area of St. Francois County, which is about 70 miles southwest of St. Louis.
Authorities say Brent Rousan, who was 16 years old at the time, shot Charles Lewis six times and Gracie Lewis several times on their property. Gracie Lewis, however, was still moving, so William Rousan placed a garment bag over her head and told his son to "Finish her off." That's when Brent Rousan fired a one shot into the side of her head.
The men got rid of the bodies in a tarp and put them near a shed. Later that night, they stole the Lewis' pickup truck, two cows, a VCR, some jewelry and a saddle.
Police arrested the culprits one year later in September 1994 after receiving two tips that helped them solve the case.
Brent Rousan was sentenced to life in prison without parole after he pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder. Robert Rousan cooperated with prosecutors and served seven years in prison for second-degree murder before he was released in 2001.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied William Rousan's request to delay his execution.
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