An elderly widow’s assailant, who committed rape and murder in her residence, has passed away in prison due to natural causes.
Fred Singleton, aged 81, spent 42 years on death row after strangling Elizabeth Lominick with a bedsheet. He was South Carolina’s lengthiest-serving death row inmate until Jamie Wilson, responsible for a school shooting in the 1980s, took that title.
Singleton’s execution was delayed for years as he was deemed mentally incompetent by the state Supreme Court, incapable of grasping the consequences. Despite this, his death sentence was upheld in the hope of potential psychological advancements aiding his condition.
In 1983, Singleton was convicted for breaking into Ms. Lominick’s home, assaulting and murdering her shortly after she became a widow. He was arrested after being found with the victim’s stolen jewelry in his possession.
With Singleton’s demise, 24 individuals remain on death row in South Carolina, down from 48 in 2014. The state has executed six inmates since then, while others have had their verdicts overturned or passed away naturally.
Jamie Wilson, the current longest-serving death row inmate in South Carolina, was involved in a tragic shooting at an elementary school in 1988, resulting in the deaths of two children and injuries to several others. Wilson, like Singleton, faces legal uncertainty due to mental health issues.
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