A man who shot and killed two Missouri prison guards almost 23 years ago in a failed bid to help an inmate escape is set to be executed this evening.
42-year-old Michael Tisius has been scheduled to die by lethal injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre for murdering officers Leon Egley and Jason Acton on June 22, 2000.
The execution is set to be carried out after much debate, including Tisius' own lawyers urging the US Supreme Court to block the execution.
His lawyers launched appeals which alleged a juror at a sentencing hearing was illiterate in English, which is a violation of Missouri law.
Another argument has already been turned down by the Supreme Court - that Tisius should be spared the death penalty as he was just 19 when the killings happened.
While a 2005 Supreme Court ruling bars executions for those under 18 when their crime took place, attorneys for Tisius argued that even at the age of 19, he should have his sentence commuted to life in prison without parole. Those advocating for Tisius say he was neglected as a child and homeless by his early teens.
In 1999, at just 18-years-old, Tisius was jailed on a misdemeanor charge for pawning a rented stereo system. In June 2000, he was housed at the same county jail in Huntsville, Alabama, with inmate Roy Vance.
Tisius was about to be released, and court records show the men hatched a plan where Tisius, once free, would help cellmate Vance escape.
Just after midnight on June 22, 2000, Tisius went to the jail with Vance's girlfriend, Tracie Bulington. The pair told Mr Egley and Mr Acton that they were there to deliver Vance some cigarettes.
What the prison officers didn't know, was that Tisius was carrying a pistol. Both officers were unarmed.
During the trial, Bulington testified that she looked up and saw Tisius with the gun drawn, then watched as he shot and killed Mr Acton. When Mr Egley then approached, Tisius is said to have shot him too.
Tisius then found keys at the dispatch area, trying to open Vance's cell, but he couldn't. When Mr Egley, still alive, grabbed Bulington's leg, Tisius shot him several more times.
The pair fled but their car broke down later that day in Kansas. Tisius and Bulington were arrested in Wathena, Kansas, about 130 miles west of Huntsville.
Tisius confessed to the crimes. Both Bulington and Vance are serving life sentences on murder convictions.
When the jury was asked to sentence Tisius for his crimes, they spent several hours deliberating in July 2010 before coming to the decision that he should face the death penalty.
Defence attorneys for Tisius argued the killings were not premeditated, they said Tisius intended to order the jailers into a holding cell while he freed Vance and other inmates. Tisius' defense team also issued a video last week, where Vance said he had planned the escape and manipulated Tisius into participating.
A clemency petition sent to Governor Michael Parson outlines a man who "strives to be redeemed in the best manner he can". A letter on behalf of Tisius and his legal team says: "not a day has gone by that he has not regretted his actions".
It also outlines a troubled childhood with "life-long neglect and extensive childhood trauma at the hands of his mother, father, and half-brother". The letter goes on to explain how Tisius has dedicated himself to art, which is included throughout the document, and "his faith in God", having "donated artwork for auction to support a local charity supporting battered women".
A letter is also included from retired warden Troy Steele, who "had a great deal of contact" with Tisius. He described Tisius as " model inmate" during his tenure at the Potosi Correctional Center (PCC), saying: "I worked for over 26 years within the Missouri Department of Corrections and I would consider him one of the best behaved in which I had contact with."
The document also contains a quote from Vance, saying: "I manipulated Mike for my own benefit and if it weren't for me and Tracie, Michael wouldn't have done this. He was just a kid. This is my fault. It only happened because of me."
On Monday, June 5, Governor Parson refused to commute Tisius' sentence. In a statement he said: "It's despicable that two dedicated public servants were murdered in a failed attempt to help another criminal evade the law.
"The state of Missouri will carry out Mr Tisius' sentences according to the Court's order and deliver justice."
The execution will be the 12th in the US this year and third in Missouri. Only Texas has executed more people than Missouri this year, with four executions.
