A Missouri man facing the death penalty for sexually assaulting and killing a child was a frequent victim of physical and sexual abuse in his youth and has a “structurally abnormal” brain that impairs his judgment, according to a clemency petition filed on his behalf.
Christopher Collings, 49, is scheduled to die by an injection of pentobarbital Tuesday evening at the state prison in Bonne Terre. It would be the 23rd execution in the U.S. this year and the fourth in Missouri.
