Mississippi is set to execute only the second person in the past decade on Dec. 14, a date recently set by the Mississippi Supreme Court. A federal judge rejected an appeal to halt the execution, as the inmate is currently suing the state over its use of three lethal injection drugs.
Thomas Edwin Loden Jr., 58, will be executed by lethal injection the evening of Dec. 14. Loden has been on death row since 2001 when he pleaded guilty to capital murder, rape, and four counts of sexual battery against a 16-year-old girl in 2000.
The victim, Leesa Marie Gray, was driving home from work after dark and was stranded on the road with a flat tire when Loden arrived, according to court records. Loden told Gray he was a Marine and said he could fix her tire for her….