Man Executed in Mo. for Shotgun Murder
             Wed Feb 6, 2:31 AM ET  By JIM SUHR, Associated Press Writer

 POTOSI, Mo. (AP) - A man convicted of the shotgun slaying of a teen-ager in 1993 was executed
 early Wednesday after losing a clemency bid that claimed the justice system is stacked against blacks
 like him.

  Michael Owsley, 40, died at 12:07 a.m. by injection at the Potosi Correctional Center, said John
 Fougere, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections.

 In a final statement, Owsley said, "I hope for salvation. I hope that the mercy and forgiveness that I
 have asked for will suffice. Praise Allah."

 Owsley's fate was sealed late Tuesday when the U.S. Supreme Court and Gov. Bob Holden refused
 to halt the execution, Missouri's 55th since the state resumed capital punishment in 1989 and the ninth
 since Holden took office a year ago.

 The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis rejected Owsley's appeals earlier Tuesday.

 In an interview, Owsley had insisted the shotgun blast that killed 18-year-old Elvin Iverson in 1993
 came accidentally while Owsley was "catatonic" on gin and PCP, making the slaying unintentional and
 worthy of a lesser charge not punishable by death.

 He also said race played a role in his death sentence.

 "This case needs to be reviewed because Missouri's death-row situation is a situation that has been
 used repeatedly on people like me — poor, black and unable to defend ourselves," Owsley
 said. "I'm nothing to Missouri, I'm nothing to the United States ... As they see it, I'm still chattel
 property."

 In pressing Holden to commute his death sentence to life behind bars, Owsley called his fate unfair
 compared with the 20-year prison term given accomplice Marion Hamilton on a related second-degree
 murder conviction.

 Owsley was accused of punching and kicking Iverson at his Kansas City home in April 1993, at times
 beating his face with the shotgun before trying to smother him with a bag. Hamilton tied Iverson and
 companion Ellen Cole together by the feet before the two were blanketed.

 "One of you live, one of you die," Owsley reportedly said while hitting the two with the shotgun,
 moments before the shotgun fired into Iverson's head.

 Cole managed to escape and call police.

 Hamilton, 43, will have his first parole hearing in April 2003, a Department of Corrections spokesman
 said.

 POTOSI, Mo. (Reuters) - A man convicted of murdering an 18-year-old drug dealer after tying up
 and beating the teen-ager in an effort to steal drug money was executed on Wednesday, prison officials
 said.

  Michael Owsley, 40, was put to death by lethal injection at 12:07 a.m. CST (1:07 a.m. EST) at the
 Potosi Correctional Center, a prison spokesman said.

 Owsley was convicted of the 1993 shotgun killing of Elvin Iverson and given the death penalty by an
 all-woman jury that was picked by Owsley's lawyer in hopes they would spare his life. The jury
 deliberated six hours before recommending Owsley be executed.

 In his final statement, Owsley said: "I hope for salvation. I hope that mercy and forgiveness that I have
 asked for will suffice, praise Allah."

 His last meal was steak, jumbo shrimp and cheesecake.

 In his appeals, Owsley said he was not responsible for his actions because he was high on drugs and
 argued that the murder weapon, a sawed-off shotgun, went off accidentally as he jammed it against
 Iverson's head. Owsley also maintained that his lawyer was taking pain medication and was
 incompetent.

 On April 19, 1993, Owsley and his accomplice, Marion Hamilton, broke into Iverson's home and tied
 up the young drug dealer and a woman friend. Owsley rained blows and kicks on Iverson and covered
 his head in a plastic bag but failed to get the answer he wanted about where any money might be
 hidden.

 After shooting Iverson, Owsley was heard telling his accomplice, "nobody cares anyway" because the
 teen-ager was a drug dealer.

 Iverson's female friend told the pair she knew where to find money but escaped by jumping out the
 window of their moving car and called police. She testified against him.

 Hamilton is serving a 20-year term for second-degree murder.

 Owsley was the 55th person put to death in Missouri since the state resumed carrying out the death
 penalty in 1989.
 
 

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