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2mo ago

Louisiana Death Row Inmate Dies Weeks Before Scheduled Execution

Christopher Sepulvado, convicted of murdering his 6-year-old stepson in 1992, passed away at 81 from natural causes after decades on death row.

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Christopher Sepulvado died at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola weeks before his scheduled execution.
FILE - Vehicles enter at the main security gate at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La., Aug. 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Judi Bottoni, File)
A prisoner's hands inside a punishment cell wing at Angola prison on Oct. 14, 2013. The Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South" and "The Farm" is a maximum-security prison farm in Louisiana operated by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. It is named Angola after the former plantation that occupied this territory, which was named for the African country that was the origin of many enslaved Africans brought to Louisiana in slavery times.

Overview

  • Christopher Sepulvado, Louisiana's oldest death row inmate, died of natural causes three weeks before his scheduled execution on March 17, 2025.
  • Sepulvado, convicted in 1993, brutally killed his 6-year-old stepson by beating him with a screwdriver and immersing him in scalding water, causing fatal injuries.
  • His death comes as Louisiana prepared to resume executions after a 15-year hiatus, using nitrogen gas as part of a newly implemented protocol.
  • Sepulvado’s attorney criticized the state’s plans to execute the terminally ill, wheelchair-bound inmate, calling it inhumane and unnecessary given his deteriorating health.
  • Louisiana officials, including the Governor and Attorney General, expressed frustration over delays in Sepulvado's execution, emphasizing the severity of his crime.