Louisiana death row inmate dies before scheduled March execution

ANGOLA, La. (WVUE/Gray News) - Louisiana’s first inmate scheduled for execution in the past 15 years has died, less than a month ahead of his scheduled death, according to officials.

Christopher Sepulvado, 81, died in custody on the night of Feb. 22, his attorney Shawn Nolan said in an emailed statement.

Sepulvado spent 30 years on death row at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola,

The Louisiana Department of Corrections also confirmed the death in a statement saying Sepulvado “died at approximately 8:45 p.m. Saturday” from “natural causes as a result of complications arising from his pre-existing medical conditions.”

Death row inmate Christopher Sepulvado, shown in this undated photo with attorney and... — Death row inmate Christopher Sepulvado, shown in this undated photo with attorney and spiritual adviser Alison McCrary, died Saturday (Feb. 23) from natural causes at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, less than a month before his scheduled March 17 execution, the Department of Corrections said.(Photo provided by Alison McCrary)

“Christopher Sepulvado’s death overnight in the prison infirmary is a sad comment on the state of the death penalty in Louisiana,” Sepulvado’s attorney said. “The idea that the state was planning to strap this tiny, frail, dying old man to a chair and force him to breathe toxic gas into his failing lungs is simply barbaric.”

Sepulvado was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1992 murder of his 6-year-old stepson, Wesley Allen Mercer. Authorities said the boy was beaten and scalded to death. The boy’s mother, Yvonne Jones, was convicted of manslaughter in the death and served more than seven years in prison.

After Gov. Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill helped push through the establishment of new protocols allowing for the use of nitrogen gas to put condemned people to death in Louisiana, DeSoto Parish Judge Amy Burford McCartney on Feb. 12 set a March 17 execution date for Sepulvado.

Sepulvado was to be the first Louisiana inmate put to death since convicted rapist-murderer Gerald Bordelon in 2010.

“Justice should have been delivered long ago for the heinous act of brutally beating then scalding to death a defenseless 6-year-old boy,” Murrill said in a statement Sunday afternoon. “The state failed to deliver it in his lifetime, but Christopher Sepulvado now faces ultimate judgment before God in the hereafter.”

The Department of Corrections said Sepulvado had been in its custody since May 24, 1993, following his conviction for first-degree murder.

Nolan said the execution of his client would serve little purpose since Sepulvado in recent years had experienced “significant physical and cognitive decline.” Nolan said his wheelchair-bound client had been taken to a hospital in New Orleans this past week for an operation to amputate his left leg, which had developed gangrene from sepsis.

Alison McCrary who served as Sepulvado’s spiritual advisor for more than 20 years, said in a statement, “Chris was remorseful and repentant for what he did. The victim’s family in Chris’ case met with me and Chris on death row several years ago. Chris demonstrated remorse, has sought repentance, and has demonstrated through his actions that he has dedicated his life to the service of others. Chris has taken accountability for the harm he has caused and wants to support the healing of those impacted by his actions on that day.”

Louisiana’s next execution is scheduled for March 18, when 46-year-old Jessie Hoffman is scheduled to be executed for the 1996 rape and murder of 28-year-old Mary “Molly” Elliot, whom authorities say was abducted in New Orleans and killed in St. Tammany Parish.

Attorneys are challenging Louisiana’s new execution method in federal court on behalf of Hoffman and nine other Louisiana death row inmates.