An elderly widow’s killer, who committed rape and murder in her home, has passed away in prison due to natural causes. Fred Singleton, 81, spent 42 years on death row after being convicted of raping and strangling Elizabeth Lominick with a bedsheet in South Carolina. Singleton was deemed incompetent for execution by the state Supreme Court because he lacked understanding of the consequences and only responded to questions with “yes” or “no.”
Despite legal uncertainties, Singleton’s death sentence remained valid since 1993, awaiting potential psychological advancements that could improve his mental state for execution. The convict was sentenced to death in 1983 for breaking into Ms. Lominick’s home, assaulting, and killing her shortly after she became a widow. Police recovered stolen jewelry belonging to the victim in Singleton’s possession, leading to his arrest and subsequent trial.
With Singleton’s death, there are now 24 individuals on death row in South Carolina, down from 48 at the end of 2014. The state has executed six inmates since then, while others have either had convictions overturned or passed away naturally. Jamie Wilson, responsible for the mass shooting at a school in the 1980s, is now the longest-serving inmate on death row in the eastern US state. Wilson, who killed two girls and injured several others, has been in legal limbo due to mental health issues since his trial in 1988.
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