David Neal Cox: Mississippi executes first execution since 2012 of man who pleaded guilty to murder and sexual assault
Cox pleaded guilty to murder, sexual assault and other charges, and asked for a sentencing jury, which sentenced him to death for murder in 2012, according to court records.
“He died peacefully and without incident. I have never seen an execution go more smoothly,” Burl Cain, Mississippi Commissioner for Corrects, said in a press release. .
Cox was the state’s first execution since 2012, according to the DOC. Six were made that year.
Having had a chance to say his last words, DOC reported Cox said, “I wanted to tell my children that I loved them very much, and that I was once a good man and only read King James [version] of the Bible, and I appreciate the Commissioner for being so kind to me. That’s all I have to say. ”
Court documents detail Cox .’s crimes
According to court documents, Cox separated from his wife Kim in 2009 and served nine months in prison before posting after her daughter, then a minor, told her that Cox had raped her. Miss.
“Cox publicly blamed Kim for his detention, claiming that he would kill her upon release,” a court document said.
According to court documents, Kim and the children moved in with Kim’s older sister, Kristie Salmon, but within weeks of her release, Cox purchased a handgun and on May 14, In 2010, he shot at Salmon’s home, a court document said.
“Cox shot Kim around 7 p.m. and let her bleed slowly to death throughout the night as she repeatedly pleaded for help,” court documents said. In addition, he sexually assaulted the 12-year-old in front of her three times.
A SWAT team arrived and arrested Cox shortly before 3:30 a.m., according to court records.
Cox asked judges of the Mississippi Supreme Court to enforce his sentence after asking his attorneys not to file further appeals, according to the DOC.