JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch says it’s time for the state Supreme Court to deny Willie Jerome Manning’s request for a rehearing and set an execution date.

Manning was sentenced to death for the 1994 murders of two Mississippi State University students.

His lawyers recently asked the Mississippi Supreme Court to reconsider his request for post-conviction relief, saying several witnesses have recanted their testimony about Manning’s guilt.

However, Fitch says Manning’s lawyers have already presented this evidence and judges have already rejected it.

“The court did not ‘misunderstand’ or ‘overlook’ any legal or factual issues. If Manning’s arguments are properly rejected,” the attorney general wrote. “This court should (1) deny Manning’s motion… and (2) grant the State’s request to set (an) execution date.”

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