Gerrard Kaonga
Death row inmate Christopher Collings' last words have been revealed as he was executed this week via lethal injection, with his lawyer saying he was taken 'too early from this Earth'.
Collings' execution makes him the 23rd inmate to be put to death in the US this year and the fourth in the state of Missouri alone.
Collings was 49 when he died by lethal injection at the Potosi Correctional Center in Bonne Terre after being sentenced to death in 2007.
His request for the US Supreme Court to grant a stay of execution was declined on Monday.
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Missouri Governor Michael Parson also issued a statement head of Collings' execution, saying: "Mr. Collings has received every protection afforded by the Missouri and United States Constitutions, and Mr. Collings' conviction and sentence remain for his horrendous and callous crime.
"The State of Missouri will carry out Mr. Collings' sentence according to the Court's order and deliver justice."
Collings, a father of two now-grown daughters, was convicted of killing nine-year-old Rowan Ford on November 3, 2007, in the Missouri village of Stella. He had lived with her family for several months that year.
He confessed to police that he had kidnapped a sleeping Rowan from her bedroom and took her to his trailer.
It is here that he had raped her and said that after she recognized him, he panicked and chose to strangle her to death, according to court records.
Her body was found a week later in a cave after an Amber Alert was issued.
Collings wrote out his final words ahead of his execution and apologized while also adding a rather baffling final message.
He said: “Right or wrong I accept this situation for what it is.
“To anyone that I have hurt in this life, I am sorry. 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."
Collings’ attorneys, one of which was at the execution, said Collings was taken 'too early from this Earth'.
His legal team added: “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."