United States

Planned Execution of William Morva in Virginia Stirs Mental Illness Debate

"Somebody wants me to die."

That's what William Morva told his mother in a phone call from a Virginia jail where he was being held on attempted robbery charges more than a decade ago, NBC News reported.

His lawyers say it's part of the evidence that he was in the grips of a delusional disorder when he subsequently made a bloody escape, killing a hospital security guard and a sheriff's deputy.

Morva, now 32, is scheduled to be executed for those murders on Thursday, but there are growing calls for clemency — including from a daughter of one his victims.

"I am against the death penalty for religious and moral reasons," said Rachel Sutphin, whose father, Cpl. Eric Sutphin, was shot in the back of the head by Morva.

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