Frank James Coppola
Frank Jones Coppola | |
---|---|
Born |
Portsmouth, Virginia | February 25, 1944
Died |
August 10, 1982 38) Richmond State Penitentiary | (aged
Cause of death | Electrocution |
Residence | Newport News, Virginia, U.S.A. |
Occupation | Police officer |
Criminal charge | Robbery and murder |
Criminal penalty | Death |
Frank Joseph Coppola (February 25, 1944 – August 10, 1982), was a police officer from Portsmouth, Virginia who was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1978 capital murder of Muriel Hatchell, although he maintained his innocence until his execution.[1]
Hatchell was bound with Venetian blind cords and then had her head slammed repeatedly into the floor, allegedly by Coppola, until she died. Coppola and his accomplices fled with $3,100 in cash and some rings from the crime scene.[2] On September 26, 1978, Coppola was convicted of first-degree capital murder and sentenced to death in Virginia's electric chair. He waived his appeals and was executed on August 10, 1982,[3]the first person executed in Virginia since the Supreme Court reinstituted capital punishment in 1976.[4] He was also the first person executed in Virginia since 1962. Resulting execution was botched, an attorney who was present later stated that it took two 55-second jolts of electricity to kill Coppola.[5]
See also
Notes
- ↑ http://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/AMR5105301.pdf Amnesty International report
- ↑ Bohlen, Celestine (August 8, 1982). "Va. Execution Set Tuesday". Washington Post. The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
- ↑ "Electric chair awaits ex-policeman". AAP-Reuter. The Age. 10 August 1982. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
- ↑ "Coppola a 'tough guy' right up to the last minute". Associated Press. Eugene Register-Guard. 11 August 1982. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
- ↑ Deborah W. Denno, Is Electrocution an Unconstitutional Method of Execution? The Engineering of Death over the Century, 35 WILLIAM & MARY L. REV. 551, 664-665 (1994).
Sources
Preceded by Steven Timothy Judy |
People executed in US | Succeeded by Charlie Brooks, Jr. |