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Bush, Supreme Court refuses to block Jones executionGulf War vet blames Iraqi nerve gas for killing
TERRE HAUTE, Indiana (AP) -- President Bush and the U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to block the execution of a decorated Gulf War veteran who says severe brain damage from his exposure to Iraqi nerve gas led him to kill. Louis Jones Jr., convicted of killing a female soldier, is scheduled to be executed by injection Tuesday at the U.S. Penitentiary near Terre Haute. Bush rejected Jones' request to commute his death sentence to life in prison without parole, said Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo. Corallo and White House officials declined to explain Bush's decision. A senior administration official said the decision stemmed from a belief that Jones was tried and convicted by a jury of his peers in a "heinous, premeditated murder."
As the execution neared, Jones met Monday with his 22-year-old daughter, his attorney and two spiritual advisers. Attorney Timothy Floyd said his client had been hopeful as he awaited word on whether Bush would consider his request to commute his death sentence to life in prison. "He was really remarkably strong and I think at peace with whatever happens. I attribute that to his deep faith -- I think that's sustained him through this," Floyd said before Bush's decision was announced. Jones, 53, admitted kidnapping 19-year-old Pvt. Tracie Joy McBride from a Texas Air Force base, raping her and beating her to death with a tire iron. His attorneys filed a late appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the high court refused Monday to grant a stay blocking the execution. The court did not comment on its decision. Jones' appeal claimed the federal death penalty is unconstitutional under a 2002 court ruling. In his request for executive clemency, Jones argues he suffered brain damage from sarin nerve gas wafting from an Iraqi weapons depot destroyed by American troops in March 1991 after the 1991 Gulf War ended. Floyd said evidence showing that came to light only after Jones' trial. In December 2000, the Pentagon informed Jones that he, along with about 130,000 other soldiers, may have been exposed to low levels of nerve gas. During Jones' trial, defense experts testified he suffered brain damage from abuse as a child and post-traumatic stress from his combat tours. Federal prosecutors oppose Jones' clemency request, pointing to evidence of his aggressive behavior before the Gulf War, including four incidents in which he beat up co-workers or fellow soldiers. He killed McBride on February 18, 1995, two years after his honorable discharge from the Army. If the execution proceeds, Jones would be the third person -- after Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and drug kingpin Juan Garza -- put to death by the federal government since 1963. Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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