Life sentence for man on S.C. death row the longest
By MEG KINNARD, The Associated Press Friday, February 05, 2010COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The longest inhabitant of South Carolina’s death row will not be executed for raping and killing a 75-year-old widow.
The Greenwood County clerk of court’s office said Friday that Circuit Judge Mark Hayes has ordered that 51-year-old Edward Lee Elmore be sentenced to life instead. Hayes wrote in his 22-page order that Elmore could not be executed because he is mentally retarded.
Elmore has been on death row since 1982. He has been sentenced to death three times for the 1982 murder of Dorothy Edwards. The widow was stabbed 52 times.
Corrections Department officials said Friday they had not received the order and did not know when Elmore would be moved from death row.
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