Daughter of one of Morva's victims seeks clemency for her father's killer

In an email to members of the media on Wednesday, Rachel Sutphin, daughter of Eric Sutphin, wrote: "I am against the death penalty for religious and moral reasons. I have fought and will continue to fight for clemency for all death row inmates until Virginia declares the death penalty unconstitutional.

"I have sent my own letter to the governor showing my support for clemency," wrote Sutphin. Dawn Davison, one of Morva's lawyers, verified Rachel Sutphin's identity as the author.

Unless granted clemency by McAuliffe, Morva, 35, will die by injection Thursday at the Greensville Correctional Center.

His lawyers are asking that the death sentence be commuted to life without parole, arguing that he suffers from delusional disorder and at the time of the slayings believed his life was in danger at the Montgomery County Jail, where he was held on robbery charges. They argue that the jury was given incorrect information about the nature and severity of his illness.

In August 2006, Morva escaped from a hospital where he was taken for treatment of minor injuries and shot to death Derrick McFarland, 32, an unarmed security guard. The following day, he killed Sutphin, 40, a sheriff’s deputy who was searching for the escapee. McFarland was shot in the face; Sutphin in the back of his head.

Other surviving relatives of the victim have not responded to requests for comment.

Montgomery County Commonwealth's Attorney Mary K. Pettitt is urging McAuliffe to let the sentence be carried out, writing in a letter to the governor that the fairness of Morva's trial has been reviewed repeatedly in the courts and upheld.

She wrote that Morva was found to have a variety of personality disorders including schizotypal personality disorder with narcissistic features. That information was all available to Morva and his lawyers at the time of his trial and it is "absurd" to contend 10 years after the trial that the original experts were wrong, wrote Pettitt.