Paul Warner Powell

{{Infobox criminal

| name = Paul Warner Powell

| image = Paul Warner Powell.jpg

| birth_date = {{birth date|1978|4|13}}

| birth_place = Fairfax, Virginia, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2010|3|18|1978|4|13}}

| death_place = Greensville Correctional Center, Jarratt, Virginia, U.S.

| death_cause = Execution by electrocution

| criminal_penalty = Death

| criminal_status = Executed

| conviction = Capital murder
Attempted capital murder
Abduction
Rape

| victims = Stacie Reed, 16

| states = Virginia

| date = January 29, 1999

| motive = White supremacy

}}

Paul Warner Powell (April 13, 1978 – March 18, 2010) was an American white supremacist who was executed for the murder of his friend Stacie Reed, 16, in 1999 after learning that she had a black boyfriend. He also raped, strangled, and stabbed the girl's sister Kristie, 14, who survived. Following the vacation of his capital murder conviction on appeal, Powell wrote letters boasting about his crimes under the mistaken belief that he was exempt from punishment by the principle of double jeopardy. His letters were used as evidence against him in a second trial that resulted in his execution in 2010.

History

On January 29, 1999, in Manassas, Virginia, 20-year-old Powell killed his 16-year-old friend, Stacie Reed. He first attempted to rape her after learning Stacie's current boyfriend was black;{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/baring-the-scars-of-her-sisters-racist-friend-20090715-dkss.html|title=Baring the scars of her sister's racist friend|work=Sydney Morning Herald|date=July 15, 2009}} Powell was "a self-avowed racist and white supremacist" who objected to interracial relationships. After Stacie fought him off, he stabbed her in the chest, puncturing her heart. Powell then drank iced tea and smoked, while waiting for Kristie, Stacie's 14-year-old sister, to come home from school.

When Kristie arrived, Powell ordered her to the basement and raped her. Interrupted by someone at the front door, he dressed and tied the girl up. While he was gone, Kristie untied her hands and tried unsuccessfully to hide or escape. Powell returned to the basement, removed Kristie's eyeglasses, and strangled her until she was unconscious. He stabbed her in the stomach, and the knife stopped within a centimeter of her aorta. He then slashed her neck numerous times; the wounds later required 61 sutures. She had multiple stab wounds to her neck, abdomen and both wrists. Her stepfather, Robert Culver, arrived home at 4:15 p.m. He found Stacie's body and searched the house for the phone to call police. He then found Kristie bleeding in the basement. She ultimately survived — with the scars on her neck serving as visible evidence of the brutal attack. She testified against Powell at his trial.{{cite web|title=Paul Warner Powell #1198|url=http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/powell1199.htm|publisher=Clark County Indiana Prosecuting Attorney's Office|accessdate=December 24, 2012}}

Legal proceedings and claim of double jeopardy

Powell was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death, but the verdict was thrown out on appeal by the Virginia Supreme Court. The court decided that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Powell attempted to rape Stacie and that there were no other aggravating factors that would warrant a death sentence; the fact that Kristie had been raped could not serve as a basis for making Stacie's killing a capital murder.{{cite news|last1=Mears|first1=Bill|title=Appeal denied for the killer who sent taunting letter|url=https://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/01/25/scotus.killers.letter/index.html|accessdate=April 20, 2017|work=CNN|date=January 25, 2010|language=en}} The conviction for the rape of Kristie Reed was upheld, and Powell was given three life sentences. He would have become eligible for parole at the age of 60 in 2038.{{Cite web |last=Matray |first=Margaret |last2=Online |first2=Pilot |date=2020-11-28 |title=Hundreds of Virginia prisoners are still waiting for their shot at freedom under a new law |url=https://www.pilotonline.com/2020/11/28/hundreds-of-virginia-prisoners-are-still-waiting-for-their-shot-at-freedom-under-a-new-law/ |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=The Virginian-Pilot |language=en-US}}

Powell, believing that he no longer faced execution due to double jeopardy, then wrote an abusive letter to the prosecutor and admitted that he attempted to rape Stacie and boasted about his crimes in detail, among several other taunting or threatening letters he sent to the victims' family. The letter to the prosecutor read, in part: "Since I have already been indicted on first degree murder and the Va. Supreme Court said that I can't be charged with capital murder again, I figured I would tell you the rest of what happened on Jan. 29, 1999, to show you how stupid all of y'all . . . are." He detailed how he told Stacie she could "do it the easy way or the hard way" and how she continued to resist him. He then stabbed her and stomped on her neck until she stopped breathing. "I guess I forgot to mention these events when I was being questioned. Ha Ha! ... Do you just hate yourself for being so stupid and for fuckin' up and saving me?"{{Cite web|url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/va-supreme-court/1339243.html|title=POWELL v. WARDEN OF THE SUSSEX STATE PRISON (2006)|website=FindLaw.com}}

In fact, the principle of double jeopardy did not apply, since although his capital murder verdict had been vacated, he had not been acquitted of the criminal charge and was still eligible to be retried. Using the letter that Powell wrote, prosecutors indicted him again for the attempted rape and murder of Stacie Reed. Powell was once again convicted and sentenced to death.

Execution

Powell chose to be executed by the electric chair instead of lethal injection. He was executed on March 18, 2010, at Greensville Correctional Center. When he was asked if he had any last words, he remained silent and stared at the ceiling.{{Cite web |last=Potter |first=Dena |last2=Welsch • • |first2=Adrienne |date=2010-03-18 |title=Man Executed for 1999 Murder |url=https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/virginia-man-to-be-executed-for-1999-murder/1864083/ |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=NBC4 Washington |language=en-US}} The day before his execution, however, Powell had spoken to Reed's family by phone and acknowledged the crime "was a senseless and pointless thing" and said he was sorry.{{cite news |last=White |first=Josh |date=March 19, 2010 |title=Virginia executes man in 1999 murder of woman, rape of her sister |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/18/AR2010031805317.html |newspaper=The Washington Post}}