Group asks Parson to spare life of convicted killer

As a convicted killer prepares to die next week, a Missouri anti-death penalty group calls on Governor Parson to block his execution. 

Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty is asking the governor to spare the life of David Hosier. He was convicted of killing his ex-lover, Angela Gilpin, at her Jefferson City apartment in 2009. Michelle Smith, the group’s co-director, says Missouri can still be tough on crime without using the death penalty.

 “States that have the death penalty have worse crime,” says Smith. “That is the reality. States that do not have the death penalty, their crime rates are lower than ours. So, we can’t say that the death penalty stops crime or stops, you know, the next person from killing someone. It does not.”

Law enforcement also found the body of Gilpin’s husband, Rodney, in her apartment. Hosier maintains his innocence.