Michael Tisius Set to be Executed Tuesday Evening in Missouri Despite Calls for Clemency from International Organizations

Michael Tisius, 42, is set to be executed Tuesday evening in Missouri for the murder of two jailers nearly 23 years ago. The execution is being fought in court, and a variety of organizations have urged Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) to grant clemency.

Tisius was 19 years old when he killed Leon Egley and Jason Acton at the Randolph County Jail on June 22, 2000. He had been attempting to help an inmate escape. The American Bar Association, the NAACP, the European Union, and the Vatican have all asked Parson to spare Tisius’ life.

Parson, however, has refused to grant clemency. 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 New York Times reports that some of the jurors who decided Tisius should get the death penalty now say they would back or wouldn’t object if Parson commuted the sentence to life in prison.

The execution of Michael Tisius is set to take place Tuesday evening at the state prison in Bonne Terre. It is the first execution in Missouri since 2017, and the first since Parson took office in 2018. The execution will be the first in the United States since the coronavirus pandemic began.