NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee will not intervene to prevent the execution of Harold Wayne Nichols, who is scheduled to die today by lethal injection.
The 64-year-old confessed to the 1988 rape and murder of Karen Pulley, a 20-year-old student at Chattanooga State University and several other rapes.
Although he expressed remorse at trial, he admitted that he would have continued his violent behavior had he not been arrested.
Nichols’ attorneys had sought to have his sentence commuted to life in prison, citing the fact that he took responsibility for his crimes and pleaded guilty. Governor Lee rejected the clemency petition in a short emailed statement Tuesday.
