Gov. Kaine declines to stop execution

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Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) has issued the following statement on the scheduled execution of Kent Jermaine Jackson by the Commonwealth of Virginia. 

In December 2002, Kent Jermaine Jackson was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to death for the capital murder of Beulah Mae Kaiser, robbery, felony stabbing, and statutory burglary.  Mrs. Kaiser was a 79-year old neighbor of Mr. Jackson.  On December 23, 2002, the jury sentenced Jackson to death, unanimously finding the aggravating circumstance of vileness.  The trial court sentenced Jackson in accordance with the jurys verdicts and entered the sentencing order on March 14, 2003. 

The trial, verdict, and sentence have been reviewed in detail by various state and federal courts, including the Supreme Court of Virginia, a United States Magistrate, a United States District Court Judge, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The Supreme Court of the United States also has denied Jacksons petition for review. 

Having carefully reviewed the petition for clemency and judicial opinions regarding this case, I find no compelling reason to set aside the sentence that was recommended by the jury and then imposed and affirmed by the courts. 

Accordingly, I decline to intervene.

 

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