On a somber Wednesday evening at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, Charles Ray Crawford was executed by lethal injection, closing a chapter that began more than three decades ago with a crime that shocked northern Mississippi. Crawford, 59, was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. on October 15, 2025, after spending over 30 years on death row for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of 20-year-old Kristie Ray, a community college student from Tippah County. His death marks Mississippi’s second execution this year and the third in the United States this week, underscoring a year of rising executions nationwide.
According to the Associated Press, the execution began promptly at 6:01 p.m. Crawford, strapped to a gurney, was seen taking deep breaths as the first of three lethal injection drugs was administered. Five minutes later, he was declared unconscious. By 6:08 p.m., his breathing slowed, his mouth quivered, and within another minute, his chest stilled. The official pronouncement of death came at 6:15 p.m., ending a long legal saga that had gripped both the Ray and Crawford families for decades.
Crawford’s final words were directed to both his loved ones and the family of his victim. “To my family, I love you. I’m at peace. I’ve got God’s peace. … I’ll be in heaven,” he said, just before the drugs took effect. Turning his attention to the Ray family, he added, “To the victim’s family, true closure and true peace, you cannot reach that without God.” His last words, “Thank you, God, for giving me the peace that I have,” echoed in the chamber as the execution proceeded.
The crime for which Crawford was sentenced to death occurred on January 29, 1993. According to court records cited by Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal and Death Penalty Information Center, Crawford broke into Kristie Ray’s home, left a handwritten ransom note demanding $15,000, and abducted Ray. He took her to a wooded area, where he raped and then fatally stabbed her in the chest. Law enforcement later found a separate ransom note, crafted from magazine cutouts and referencing a woman named Jennifer, in the attic of Crawford’s former father-in-law’s house. This clue, turned over to police, helped lead to his arrest the following day. At the time, Crawford was already awaiting trial for a separate 1991 assault involving the rape of a 17-year-old girl and a brutal hammer attack on her friend.
Despite Crawford’s claims of experiencing blackouts and not remembering either the killing of Ray or the earlier assaults, juries in both cases found him guilty. His prior rape conviction was considered an “aggravating circumstance” during the capital murder trial, paving the way for the death penalty. In 1994, he was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death—a sentence he would spend the next three decades trying to overturn.
Over the years, Crawford’s legal team filed numerous appeals, arguing that his Sixth Amendment rights had been violated during his 1994 trial. In their final appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, his attorneys contended that Crawford’s defense counsel admitted his guilt and pursued an insanity defense against his explicit wishes. Their argument referenced a 2018 Supreme Court decision establishing that a lawyer cannot override a defendant’s wish to maintain innocence. “It’s almost like he didn’t even get the chance to have innocent or guilty matter because his attorney just overrode his wishes from the outset,” said Krissy Nobile, director of the Mississippi Office of Capital Post-Conviction Relief. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court declined to intervene minutes before the execution, and earlier in the day, the Mississippi Supreme Court had also denied emergency motions to stay the execution.
Republican Governor Tate Reeves also denied a clemency petition, citing the severity of the crime and noting that Crawford did not claim innocence. In the hours before his execution, Crawford appeared relaxed, spending time with his family and a preacher, as reported by Parchman Superintendent Marc McClure. For his last meal, he requested a double cheeseburger, fries, peach cobbler, and chocolate ice cream—a small comfort before his final moments.
Outside the prison gates and at the Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, demonstrators gathered throughout the afternoon, holding signs and circulating petitions calling for the execution to be halted. Organizations such as Death Penalty Action and Catholic Mobilizing Network argued that Crawford had not received a fair trial, a sentiment echoed by his attorneys in a statement after his death: “Despite a legal system that failed him, Charles Crawford (‘Chuck’) spent every day in prison trying to be the best person, family member, friend and Christian he could be.”
Mary Ray, Kristie’s mother, traveled to Parchman to witness Crawford’s final moments, though Kristie’s father, Tommy, was unable to attend due to health reasons. Speaking to the Tupelo newspaper the week before the execution, Mary Ray expressed her enduring grief. “I don’t like the word ‘closure,’” she said. “I have a hole in my heart as big as my heart that will never be closed.” She did not speak to reporters after the execution.
Crawford’s family, including his sister, father, and stepmother, were questioned during the trial about their feelings toward him. They affirmed their love for him but were clear that they did not condone his actions or support the death penalty. Prosecutors, during closing arguments, criticized the Crawford family for allegedly shifting blame and for actions they believed enabled Crawford’s crimes, such as helping him pay bond and not alerting authorities sooner.
Mississippi resumed executions in 2021 after a 12-year hiatus, and Crawford’s death follows the execution of Richard Jordan earlier this year. Currently, 36 people remain on death row in the state, with the attorney general’s office seeking execution dates for two more inmates. Nationwide, including Crawford, 38 people have been executed in 2025, with six more executions scheduled before the year’s end. The week saw a flurry of lethal injections, with executions in Florida and Missouri occurring just a day before Crawford’s. The next scheduled execution is Richard Djerf in Arizona, convicted of a quadruple murder in the early 1990s.
As the debate over capital punishment continues to divide Americans, the story of Charles Ray Crawford’s execution serves as a stark reminder of the enduring pain for victims’ families, the complexities of the legal system, and the lingering questions about justice and closure that linger long after the final gavel falls.
