Pope John Paul II on Wednesday asked for clemency for Derek Barnabei, a 34-year-old Italian-American, due to be executed on Thursday.
Barnabei was convicted of raping and murdering his girlfriend, 17-year-old student Sarah Wisnosky, in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1993.
A US federal judge on Tuesday rejected a petition from his lawyers to stay his execution, refuting their claim that Barnabei's rights had been violated.
The pope, who issued his clemency plea at the end of his weekly general audience in Saint Peter's Square, made an earlier plea on Barnabei's behalf in July.
Italy's Justice Minister Pietro Fassio has also sent a letter to the US embassy in Rome urging Virginia Governor James Gilmore to make a "humanitarian gesture" in Barnabei's favor.
Barnabei is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Thursday -- VATICAN CITY(AFP)
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