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SourceMay 12, 3:51 PM (ET)
By PAT EATON-ROBB
SOMERS, Conn. (AP) - A serial killer who struggled to hasten his own death - and was forced to prove he wasn't out of his mind - awaited lethal injection early Friday in New England's first execution in 45 years.
Michael Ross, 45, was scheduled to be put to death at 2:01 a.m. after fighting off attempts by public defenders, death penalty foes and his own family to save his life.
A federal judge rejected two appeals early in the day brought by his father and sister.
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Last fall, he announced he was abandoning all remaining appeals - which could have kept him alive for many years - because his victims' families had suffered enough.
"I owe these people. I killed their daughters. If I could stop the pain, I have to do that. This is my right," the former insurance agent and Cornell University graduate said last year. "I don't think there's anything crazy or incompetent about that."
Desperate to save his life, public defenders and Ross' family argued that Ross suffered from "death row syndrome" - that is, he had become deranged from living most of the past 18 years under a death sentence.
I say give the man what he wants. Good grief, what are these people thinking? A serial killer has to prove he is of sound mind to get the sentence he deserves? Is this story for real?