Michael Tisius executed for killing two Randolph County jailers

BONNE TERRE, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man convicted of killing two Randolph County jailers was executed Tuesday evening by lethal injection.

Michael Tisius, 42, was executed at the state prison in Bonne Terre after Gov. Mike Parson denied him clemency Monday.

In a statement Parson said, “It’s despicable that two dedicated public servants were murdered in a failed attempt to help another criminal evade the law."

At 5:58 p.m. Tuesday Governor Mike Parson's office was asked if the execution should proceed and the answer was yes.

Missouri Department of Corrections spokesperson Karen Pojmann said in a news conference after the execution, "at 6 p.m. the order was given to proceed with the lawful execution. At 6:01 the lethal injection was given and at 6:10 Michael Tisius was pronounced dead.

Tisius' two attorneys were there at witnesses but no family was present on his behalf.

Poojmann aid there were eight witnesses present for the execution for the victims.

In a final statement Tisius said "I am holding tightly to my faith. It's all I have to take with me." He added, "I am sorry and not because I am at the end, but because I truly am sorry.:

Tisius chose to have his last meal.

"Tisius final meal was two beacon cheese burgers, curly fry, regular fries and a chocolate shake." Pojmann said.

The state will be working with Tisius attorneys to determine what to do with his remains.

Last week, advocacy groups delivered letters to Parson seeking Tisius' clemency. The execution initially was delayed by a federal judge after Tisius' lawyers claimed a juror during his 2010 resentencing hearing could not read or write and should be disqualified.

However, an appeals court denied the stay.

Tisius -- who was 19 years old at the time -- shot and killed two officers, Leon Egley and Jason Acton, in 2000.

Officials say it was in an attempt to free an inmate in the Randolph County Jail.

Court records state Tisius was in jail in 2000 for a misdemeanor charge of pawning a rented stereo system when he planned to help another inmate escape.

Tisius is the third person to be executed in Missouri this year and the 12th nationally.