Paul Powell dies in electric chair

JARRATT, Va. -- Paul Warner Powell, who killed a 16-year-old Yorkshire girl and bragged about it in a letter to prosecutors, was put to death in Virginia's electric chair Thursday.

Powell, 31, was pronounced dead at 9:09 p.m. at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt. He did not make statement.

Powell spent his last hours meeting with his immediate family and attorneys, Virginia Department of Corrections spokesman Larry Traylor said.

Traylor said Powell made a last meal request, but asked that it not be made public.

Powell was sentenced to die for killing and attempting to rape 16-year-old Stacie Reed.

On Jan. 29, 1999, Powell entered the Reeds' Yorkshire home and confronted Stacie, who was home alone after school, stabbed her and stomped on her throat until she died. Powell said he was angry that Stacie had a black boyfriend.

Powell then waited in the house, drinking iced tea and smoking a cigarette, until 14-year-old Kristie came home from school. He tied her up, raped her and stabbed her and left her to die in the basement.

Kristie survived and testified against Powell.

Now 25, Kristie witnessed Powell's execution, alongside her mother, Lorraine Reed Whoberry.

On Wednesday, a day before Powell was set to die, Whoberry said she and her family were ready for the execution to happen and to "close a chapter" in their lives.

"We're all kind of anxious, not knowing what to expect," Whoberry said. "I'm trying not to go with any expectations. I'm just hoping I can get through this and be strong for Kristie."

Whoberry, who started the S.T.A.C.I.E. Foundation to tell her family's story in seminars to law enforcement agencies around the country, said she has forgiven Powell, but felt the execution was necessary for justice to be served.

Whoberry told the Richmond Times Dispatch that they talked with Powell by phone for more than an hour on Wednesday.

"He was able to say he was sorry, and he made the point several times that (the crime) was senseless, it was pointless ... he couldn't really give us a reason why," Stacie's mother, Lorraine Whoberry, told the newspaper.

"It was just a simplistic, 'I'm sorry,' and I accept that."

Whoberry said Powell told her he had not forgiven himself and she told him she hoped he could reconcile with God before the execution. "We let him know that we are praying for him and his mom, his family," she said.

Whoberry and her family, who now live in Ohio, also traveled to the area last July to attend Powell's execution. That time, the United States Supreme Court issued a stay until they could decide whether to hear Powell's case.

In January, the high court decided it would not intervene.

Last week, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell also said he would not stay the execution. It was the first capital case to come before the new governor.

Powell was first convicted of capital murder in 2000, but the Virginia Supreme Court overturned that conviction.

Then, thinking he could no longer face the death penalty, Powell wrote a taunting letter to Prince William Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert, giving him new evidence by describing how he attempted to rape Stacie.

Ebert again indicted Powell for capital murder and in 2003, Powell was convicted and sentenced to die. Ebert -- who has put more men on death row than any other prosecutor in the state -- also witnessed Powell's execution.

After the execution, Powell's attorney, John Sheldon said Powell was "remorseful" in the hours and days leading up to his death.

"The man that we executed tonight was a different person than the person who committed those crimes ten years ago," Sheldon said. "He was very remorseful and very aware that he brought this on himself."

Ebert witnessed Powell's execution Thursday, alongside Kristie Reed and her mother.

"I can't speak for the family, but my sense is this will give them solace and closure," Ebert said."They can go on with their lives."

Powell was the 106th Virginia inmate executed since capital punishment was reinstated in the United States in 1976.

Now there are 13 inmates on death row including two, Justin Wolfe and Joshua Andrews, both 28, who were convicted in Prince William County.

Staff writer Amanda Stewart can be reached at 703-878-8014.