Corbett signs execution warrants, including convicted Philly murderer

Gov. Tom Corbett. Courtesy of Wiki Commons.

Gov. Tom Corbett Tuesday signed execution warrants for two men, including a Philadelphia man convicted of killing a protected murder witness.

Laquaille Bryant, now 32, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for shooting and killing Chante Wright and Octavia Green in the early morning hours of Jan. 19, 2008, according to a news release.

Wright was a key witness in a different homicide that was scheduled to go to trial in May 2oo8. After leaving a safe house in Florida, where she was staying as part of the witness protection program, she returned to visit her sick great-grandmother in Philly on Jan. 18, 2008.

On the day of her return Wright and Green picked up Bryant in a rental car and drove around the city. Around 2 a.m. on Jan. 19, Bryant pulled out a gun and shot both women three times.

Bryant would later tell a friend that he believed he was going to be paid for killing Wright for her role as a witness in the other homicide, according to a news release.

Bryant will be executed on Jan. 29, 2014.

In Jefferson County, Robert Gene Rega,now 47, killed a 50-year-old night watchman – execution style – during a hotel robbery on the night of Dec. 21, 2000, according to a news release.

Rega will be executed on Jan. 28, 2014.

Including these two warrants, Corbett has approved 29 executions since he took office.

In Pennsylvania, executions are carried out by lethal injection.

____________________

Follow Tommy Rowan on Twitter: @tommyrowan

Follow Metro Philadelphia on Twitter: @metrophilly

Follow Metro Philadelphia on Facebook: Metro Philadelphia