Governor Jay Nixon (D) has denied a petition for clemency for convicted inmate Jeffrey Ferguson. Ferguson is scheduled to be executed shortly after midnight for the 1989 murder of Kelli Hall.

Nixon issued the following statement to the media:

“Earlier today, I received from my counsel a final briefing on the petition for clemency from Jeffrey Ferguson, which has been reviewed in detail. After careful deliberation, I have denied this petition. This is a process and a gubernatorial power I do not take lightly. The specific circumstances and set of facts for each case are – and must be – considered on their own.

“Kelli Hall was only 17 when she was abducted from her workplace, raped and brutally murdered. Her life, so full of promise, was brutally taken from her and her family. The jury that convicted Jeffrey Ferguson of Kelli’s murder found that the aggravating circumstances for this crime warranted the death penalty. My decision today upholds that appropriate sentence.

“I ask that the people of Missouri remember Kelli Hall and keep her family in their thoughts and prayers.”

Earlier stories on Jeffrey Ferguson