A Missouri man, Christopher Collings, is facing the death penalty for the sexual assault and murder of a 9-year-old child in 2007. Collings, who confessed to the crimes, is scheduled for execution by lethal injection on Tuesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre.
Collings' attorney has filed a clemency petition on his behalf, citing his history of physical and sexual abuse as a child and a 'structurally abnormal' brain that impairs his judgment. The petition argues that Collings' brain abnormality results in functional deficits affecting his awareness, judgment, and emotional regulation.
