An 81-year-old man, who spent 30 years on death row passed away in Louisiana, US, before his scheduled execution date in March, 2025.
As reported by NBC, the Louisiana officials confirmed on Sunday, February 23, that Christopher Sepulvado died of "natural cause," while he was admitted in the infirmary.
Christopher was jailed and sentenced to death in the 1992 killing of his 6-year-old stepson after the boy came home from school with soiled underwear.
As per the reports, the man hit him on the head with a screwdriver and immersed him in burning water, and was convicted and sentence to death in 1993.
Federal Public defender and Christopher’s attorney Shawn Nolan said in a statement on Sunday that doctors recently announced the convicted man terminally ill and recommended hospice care.
While discouraging the capital punishment, Shawn added, "Christopher Sepulvado’s death overnight in prison infirmary is a sad comment on the state of the death penalty in Louisiana."
Furthermore, Christopher was supposed to be executed by nitrogen gas, which his lawyer described as "simply barbaric."
Notably, US first execution using nitrogen gas was carried out last year in Alabama and since four people have been executed using the same method.
