KRYSTAL KING - 15 yo (1986) - Gulfport MS

Gulfport MS ---- Nearly 25 years after her brutal rape and
murder, Krystal King's family will finally be able to watch her killer
put to death. On Thursday, Gerald James Holland is scheduled to die by
lethal injection for killing the Harrison County teenager. The lead
police investigator and the prosecutor who made the case to put Holland
on death row talked about the murder.
On September 12th, 1986, Krystal King's lifeless body was found in a
shallow grave in the woods. Those charged with bringing her killer to
justice say it was a gruesome murder.


"It was one of the most reprehensible acts one human could do to
another." said District Attorney Cono Caranna. "I think there were
multiple insults to her body. Stab wounds, choking, rape. It was just
awful."
D'Iberville Police Chief Wayne Payne was a Gulfport detective back in
'86. He said witnesses led the investigation right to Gerald James
Holland.
"We went to the house where it occurred at and that's where Gerald
Holland was located," Chief Payne said. "When we got inside, he was
sitting down watching TV and drinking a beer."


The next year an Adams County jury convicted Holland of capital
murder. As prosecutors and defense attorneys prepared for the penalty
phase, the jury sent the judge a note.
"The jury came out and said 'We find that Gerald Holland should be
put to death for his crime,'" said Caranna. "You can't do that. You have
to have a sentencing hearing. So we went forward with the sentencing
hearing with everyone in the courtroom, lawyers and everybody else.,
knowing we were going to have to come back another day to have a real
sentencing hearing. Because this jury had shown it already had it's mind
made up without looking at any evidence."
As expected, the state Supreme Court threw out the sentence. Then in
1991, Caranna convinced a different jury that Holland should die, but
that wouldn't happen before 19 years of appeals.
"The system has become absolutely ridiculous when it comes to death
penalty cases," Caranna said. "When you're dealing with the very same
facts and you're just trying to present them in a different way to
appeal to an appellate court somewhere, then I think there is abuse in
the system."
Chief Payne said, "We've got a family that lost a daughter. Every
time you have a retrial, every time there's something in the paper,
there's no closure for that family. Hopefully tomorrow there will be
closure."
"This was a horrible crime. Truly horrible crime because he cut her
up also," said Chief Payne. "If there was ever a person that deserved to
die, he certainly is. He's certainly the one."
Gerald James Holland is scheduled to die at six o'clock. Krystal
King's family said that her two sisters will be present, but her
mother has decided not to attend. Krystal was murdered on her 15th
birthday.