Remorseful killer executed

A killer was executed in North Carolina today after giving up his appeals to show his remorse to the survivors of his six victims.

Charles Wesley Roache, 30, had dropped all but a mandatory appeal on the trial record required by state law. Legal wrangling could have extended his life for up to five years, but Roache said he gave up all appeals

Death penalty opponents argued the state shouldn’t execute Roache without examining his mental fitness, but Roache asked his lawyers to do nothing to keep him alive.

He also declined to seek clemency from Governor Mike Easley, who decided last night that he saw no reason to stop Roache’s execution by lethal injection.

Roache and a 25-year-old man murdered a family of five during a robbery attempt. They also killed another man.

Roache’s partner-in-crime was jailed for life at a separate trial.