<img src="http://valdosta.sgaonline.com/headlines/noon.gif" /> Execution order issued for Ga. man

Local News

February 5, 2010

Anonymous The Tifton Gazette Fri Feb 05, 2010, 12:06 PM EST

ATLANTA (AP) — A court has issued an order for the execution of Melbert Ray Ford, convicted in the 1986 killings of his former girlfriend and her 11-year-old niece.

The Superior Court of Newton County issued the order setting a seven-day window for Ford's execution, beginning at noon on Feb. 23.

The Georgia Department of Corrections has not yet named a specific time and date for the execution.

Ford was convicted of killing Martha Chapman Matich and her niece, Lisa Chapman. Prosecutors said the killings were in revenge against her for breaking up with him.

Ford's petition to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied on Jan. 25.

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