Family of Victim Urges Caution on Execution Moratorium

Members of a murder victim’s family say lawmakers must weigh carefully calls to place a moratorium on executions. Missouri executed its first prisoner this year Wednesday at the Potosi prison, putting James Hampton to death by lethal injection for the 1992 murder of Frances Keaton of Warrenton. Keaton’s family members attended the execution. Son-in-law Carl Bowlin of Smithton, Illinois suggests legislators consider the victim’s family when they consider the moratorium issue. He says the pain the family has endured cannot be measured. Bowlin says his only regret is that Hampton didn’t suffer in death as his mother-in-law did.