Death Penalty Affirmed for ‘Snitch’ Murder at Federal Prison

Wesley Paul Coonce Jr. was properly sentenced to death for the murder of a fellow inmate at a federal prison in Missouri in 2010, an appeals court ruled July 25.

A jury and district court properly weighed aggravating and mitigating factors before imposing the death penalty, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit said.

Coonce repeatedly claimed responsibility for killing the inmate, whom he viewed as a “snitch,” by tying up the victim’s hands and feet, and stomping and standing on his neck until he stopped breathing, the court said.

This ruling comes the same day as Attorney ...