Gov. Ed Rendell signed an execution warrant Wednesday for a former East Liberty man who was sentenced to death by lethal injection for the fatal stabbing of his estranged wife.
Wayne Cordell Mitchell, 29, was convicted of first-degree murder for the Sept. 10, 1997, slaying of Robin Little, 19, of Homewood. Prosecutors sought the death penalty on grounds that Mitchell killed Little to keep her from testifying against him after she accused him of rape.
The state Supreme Court affirmed the sentence last year, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for a judicial review earlier this year. Mitchell is scheduled to be executed on June 19.
