A federal appeals court judge refused to reverse a lower court's order to stop the execution of Sammy Crystal Perkins. Perkins was convicted of raping and killing seven-year-old Lashena "Jo Jo" Moore in Pitt County in 1992. The state appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Meantime, in state court, a judge denied a defense request for a new trial. The defense appealed that decision to the North Carolina Supreme Court, which denied a request to postpone the execution. Perkins fate appears ultimately to rest with the U.S. Supreme Court.
