Charles Crawford is scheduled to be executed on October 15 2025 for the sexual assault and murder of Kristy Roy
According to court documents Kristy Roy was a student at Northeast Mississippi Community College who would be kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered by Charles Crawford on January 29, 1993
Charles Crawford would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. At the time of the Kristy Roy murder Crawford was out on bond for aggravated assault and sexual assault
Charles Crawford was executed on October 15 2025 by lethal injection
Charles Crawford Execution News
Charles Ray Crawford, 59, has spent more than 30 years on death row and is set to face execution in mid-October 2025 for the 1993 kidnapping and murder of a Mississippi college student.
Lawyers for Crawford and death penalty opponents are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his execution, citing constitutional concerns regarding his initial trial.
Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office sought an execution date for Crawford twice in less than a year, first in Novemeber 2024 and again, in June 2025.
What was Charles Crawford convicted for?
Crawford was convicted and sentenced to death in 1994 for the 1993 kidnapping, rape and murder of Kristy Ray from her Tippah County home in the Chalybeate community. Ray was a 20-year-old student at Northeast Mississippi Community College student.
In 1993, Crawford was out on bond awaiting trial on charges of aggravated assault and rape. Four days before the trial, Crawford broke into Ray’s home, left a ransom note to her family and abducted Ray from her parents’ home in Chalybeate — about 255 miles north of Jackson.
Crawford handcuffed the community college student and stuffed a sock in her mouth before sexually assaulting her and stabbing her to death on a country road in northeast Mississippi’s Tippah County, court records show.
After Crawford’s family and attorney notified police that they feared Crawford was committing another crime, he was arrested. Crawford told authorities he did not remember the incident but later led them to the body buried in leaves in a wooded area.
Crawford’s execution is set for 6 p.m. Oct. 15, 2025, at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.
The date came after the Supreme Court of Mississippi ruled in September that Crawford had exhausted all state and federal “remedies” in his conviction.
Why are lawyers for Charles Crawford asking the U.S. Supreme Court to delay execution?
According to Oct. 1 court filings, lawyers representing Crawford said during his trial, his then-defense counsel conceded his guilt to the jury. Crawford’s attorneys laid the groundwork to show he was insane, even though Crawford disagreed with that defense.
The attorneys stated defense counsel told jurors in guilt-phase closing arguments that Crawford was “‘legally responsible’ for the charged crimes and that he was ‘still dangerous to the community.'”
“Unsurprisingly,” the jury convicted Crawford and sentenced him to death, the attorneys say.
“Counsel made those sweeping concessions over petitioner’s repeated and vehement objections, which he expressed to both counsel and the trial court,” the Oct. 1 petition reads. “The trial court’s rejection of petitioner’s objections was a stark violation of the Sixth Amendment, which guarantees an accused the right to decide whether to permit counsel to concede guilt before the jury.”
In addition to the certiorari petition, lawyers filed an Emergency Application for Stay of Execution, asking the court to temporarily halt Crawford’s execution pending the disposition of this case.
The court’s granting of a stay of execution would permit the court to consider the petition and resolve the case before the State of Mississippi proceeds with the execution. No ruling has been as of this publication
What is the state’s response to Charles Crawford’s move to halt his execution?
In a 38-page response filed Thursday, Oct. 9, the state refuted Crawford’s claims, asserting that he “has refused the process he was due, his punishment is just, and his execution will be constitutional.”
The state contends Crawford’s filings are a last-minute effort to halt his execution, years after the case was decided and far too late to be raised now.
“His guilt is not in question — petitioner no doubt committed the crime that sent him to death row,” the state’s Oct. 9 response reads. “Petitioner was sentenced to death by a Mississippi jury in 1994. Three decades of litigation have not demonstrated constitutional errors occurred at trial. The Mississippi Supreme Court has upheld his conviction and sentence four times, and lower federal courts have denied him habeas relief. This Court has denied certiorari review at every turn.”
The state also argued that Crawford never instructed his counsel to maintain his innocence but instead to “‘vigorously advocate for acquittal’ which is exactly what counsel did.”
“Counsel pursued an insanity defense aimed at securing petitioner’s outright acquittal,” the state’s response reads. “The record reflects that counsel conceded underlying facts, yet at all times argued that Crawford was not guilty by reason of insanity.”
According to the state, after Crawford’s family and attorney notified police that they feared Crawford was committing another crime and he was arrested, Crawford told officers that he “didn’t know Kristy” or “why officers wanted to speak to him.”
“When asked by FBI agents ‘if Kristy was alive,’ he ‘began to cry’ and ‘admit[ted] that Kristy was no longer alive.'”, the state’s response reads. “Petitioner then led officers to Kristy’s body, hidden in a wooded area near the abandoned barn. Her jeans had been ‘pulled down below her hips,’ her ‘hands were cuffed behind her back around a small cedar sapling,’ a ‘sock had been stuffed into her mouth, and a gag was around her head to keep it in place.'”
Court records state an autopsy later revealed Ray’s cause of death was “a large stab wound to the left mid-chest which punctured her heart and left lung, causing extensive internal and external hemorrhaging.” In addition, samples collected from the scene contained Ray and Crawford’s DNA
Mississippi prison reform advocate Mitzi Magleby said Crawford, whose nickname is “Chuck,” has evolved as a person during his time in prison, a transformation she has observed through her conversations with him.
Magleby described Crawford as “extremely polite,” “well-mannered,” “docile,” “not a troublemaker,” “not a violent person now” and “respectful.” She also noted Crawford has maintained a prison job for more than 25 years.
Death Row Spiritual Advisor Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood supported Magleby’s statements, adding that Crawford often speaks about the good treatment he receives in prison and expresses he is “concerned about the victim’s family.”
Hood further explained that Crawford is cautious about what he says or does, fearing it might upset Ray’s family. According to Hood, this shows how Crawford is “ready to sacrifice his voice and his space for the healing of others.”
Advocates said these changes in character will not be witnessed by Mississippi if Crawford is executed, urging leaders to take action to halt the process.
“We’re not excusing anything Mr. Crawford did. We’re saying that 32 years later, he’s a different man,” Magleby said. “We are not killing a man that is the same person. We are killing a man that has redeemed himself, has changed his life and is a totally different person now.”
Hood reinforced many of Magleby’s statements by asking the people of Mississippi, “Who would Jesus execute?”
How many executions will Charles Crawford’s mark in Mississippi in 2025?
Crawford’s execution, if upheld, would be the second this year in Mississippi. Richard Jordan, 79, was put to death on June 25. Jordan was the state’s longest-serving and oldest death row inmate.
Jordan was executed around 6:15 p.m. by lethal injection one month after his 79th birthday. He received his last meal at 4 p.m.
Charles Crawford’s crime was featured on television show
The Investigation Discovery Channel aired an episode about the case in March 2019 during the fifth season of Your Worst Nightmare, titled “Behind the Barn,” according to the channel’s website and IMDb.
Mississippi death row inmate Charles Crawford execution what to know
