Miss. Court Won’t Toss Rape Conviction Appeal

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Supreme Court has denied a prosecutor’s motion to throw out a death row inmate’s appeal of his 1994 rape conviction.

Charles Ray Crawford is on death row for the 1992 slaying of Kristy Ray in the Chalybeate community in Tippah County.

In his appeal, Crawford says he received ineffective counsel to defend himself against the rape charges, which were used by prosecutors to seek the death penalty. Few details of the rape conviction are discussed in earlier briefs in the death penalty case.

The attorney general’s office argued in requesting the dismissal that Crawford got a fair trial and that if there was any error, it was Crawford’s for waiting 20 years to file an appeal.

The Supreme Court denied the motion Thursday without comment.