Georgia Parole Board denies clemency for Gregory Lawler

Gregory Lawler

Just an hour after hearing from those who wanted to see Atlanta cop killer Gregory Lawler executed, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied his request for clemency.

Lawler, 63, is scheduled to be executed Wednesday at 7 p.m. for the Oct. 12,1979, murder of Atlanta police officer John "Rick" Sowa. Sowa's partner, Pat Cocciolone, was critically wounded in the shooting that came moments after the 2 officers had walked Lawler's drunk girlfriend to the door of the apartment they shared.

For 3 hours this morning, the 5 member board heard pleas from Lawler's brother and lawyers to spare him because Lawler just learned 3 weeks ago that he is autistic and that worked against him when he testified at his trial in 2000 and when he was interviewed by a board investigator last week.

Sowa's widow, his sister, Cocciolone and Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard spent about 1 1/2 hours with the board Tuesday afternoon.

On a Sunday evening 19 years and one week ago, Sowa and Cocciolone were dispatched to investigate a report of a man hitting a woman with a bag in a parking lot hear the intersection of Piedmont Avenue and Lindbergh Drive. They came up on Lawler trying to pull his girlfriend, Donna Rodgers, to her feet. After Lawler walked off, the officers decided to drive the intoxicated woman home.

Moments after Rodgers had walked into the apartment she shared with Lawler, Lawler shot the fleeing officers with armor-piercing bullets. Sowa died on the lawn while Cocciolone, though wounded, called for help. Both officers still had their guns holstered.

If he is executed, Lawler will be the 7th person Georgia has put to death this year, which is more than any other year since the current death penalty law was adopted her 40 years ago. Only Texas has executed as many as 7 people since Jan. 1.

Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution, October 19, 2016

Clemency denied for convicted cop killer facing death penalty

Officials deciding the fate of a Georgia man set to be executed for killing a cop and injuring another have made their decision.

After a clemency hearing Tuesday morning, the Georgia Parole Board has denied the request by attorneys for Gregory Paul Lawler. Lawler is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at the state prison in Jackson on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The 63-year-old was convicted of murder in October 1997 after shooting and killing Atlanta Police officer John Sowa and critically injuring officer Patricia Cocciolone. Prosecutors say Lawler, then 45 years old, shot the officers as they tried to help bring his intoxicated girlfriend home. During testimony a few years later, Lawler claimed that he didn't trust the police and was a victim in the crime, despite evidence to the contrary.

Lawler was sentenced to the death penalty in 2000. New unsealed documents from the State Board of Pardons and Paroles released Monday show Lawler's attorneys have asked the board to halt the execution after Lawler was diagnosed with autism. According to the man's attorneys, the recent diagnosis helps explain his actions that night.

The board, which is the only authority that can commute a death sentence, considered the request during the Tuesday hearing. The board said they came to their decision after reviewing all case materials from Lawler's file, including the life and criminal history of the inmate, and circumstances of the crime.

If there are no additional last minute stays, Lawler will become the 7th Georgia inmate executed this year.

Source: Associated Press, October 19, 2016

Georgia preparing to execute man who killed Atlanta officer

Georgia is preparing to execute a man convicted of killing an Atlanta police officer and wounding a 2nd officer with an AR-15 rifle.

Gregory Paul Lawler is scheduled to die Wednesday evening by injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital at the state prison in Jackson.

Lawler, who's 63, was convicted in the October 1997 slaying of Officer John Sowa. Authorities say he also critically wounding Officer Patricia Cocciolone.

Lawler's attorneys have argued that a recent autism diagnosis helps explain his actions that night and that his life should be spared. Legal maneuvers to save his life are pending in the courts.

The State Board of Pardons and Paroles, which is the only authority in Georgia with power to commute a death sentence, on Tuesday declined to grant him clemency.

Source: Associated Press, October 19, 2016

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