Christopher Collings, convicted of child murder, has been executed. Collings, sentenced to Death Row for the rape and murder of nine-year-old Rowan Ford, was executed by lethal injection in Missouri at 6 PM CST.
He has been incarcerated since 2007 for the abduction of a Rowan while she was asleep, thereafter transporting her to his caravan to perpetrate rape and strangulation, resulting in her death.
Rowan’s mother observed from the stands during his execution, accompanied by at least one of his solicitors.
Christopher Collings last words were:
“Right or wrong, I accept this situation for what it is.
“To anyone that I have hurt in this life I am sorry,” he wrote. “I hope that you are able to get closure and move on.
“Regardless which side of this situation that you are on, you are in my prayers and I hope to see you in heaven one day.”
Christopher Collings’ attorneys made a statement:
They said: “Chris was taken too early from this Earth.”
“We share Chris’ desire that that his death will provide a measure of closure for the victim’s family and that the people hurt by him will be able to carry on.
“What occurred today, though, was an act of vengeance, but will not define Chris, nor will it be how we remember him.”
A huge number of people joined the search for little Rowan when she went missing. She was known as a bubbly girl who was always on her purple bicycle, worked hard in school, and had her bedroom painted Barbie pink.
Her big sister, Ariane Macks, who is now 35, said: “I am so proud of the girl that she was turning out to be
‘A part of me died when my sister died. I did lose my ray of sunshine. She was very shy but when she opened up, it’s like the whole room lit up. Rowan, she was something very special.”
Prior to the execution she said: “I wanted him dead, I still do but they could have done something better than lethal injection because he’s going out easy.
“I cannot even imagine the pain when (Rowan) was strangled. Christopher Collings being so tall and so big compared to my little sister, she didn’t have a fighting chance.”
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