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Gov. Roy Cooper has commuted the sentence of a man originally sentenced to die for the killing of a mother in Stanly County.
Cooper issued a commutation order for Guy Tobias LeGrande, 65, on Tuesday.
LeGrande was convicted of first degree murder April 26, 1996 for the 1993 murder-for-hire death of 26-year-old Ellen Munford.
His sentence is commuted to life without parole.
LeGrande was originally set to die Dec. 1, 2006. Superior Court Judge Robert Bell stayed the execution, ordering further competency evaluation.
In June 2008, Bell ruled that LeGrande was incompetent due to severe mental illness.
The July 3, 2008 edition of The Stanly News & Press details more about the murder plot.
“Following his statements to prosecutors and subsequent court appearances, Tommy Munford Jr. was found to be directly involved in the murder and is serving a life sentence in prison handed down in 1996.
“Although he was out of town headed for Myrtle Beach, S.C. at the time of the actual slaying, he was later found guilty of solicitation to commit murder and second degree murder.
“Blackmail letters LeGrande wrote to Munford Jr. in 1993 demanding $10,000 for the crime further linked the two men.
“Case evidence suggests Munford Jr. hoped to collect $50,000 in insurance money from his wife’s death.”
LeGrande’s commutation was one of 15 Cooper did “after a thorough review of detailed petitions for clemency submitted by the defendants, input from district attorneys and the families of victims, and close review by the Governor’s Office,” a press release said.
“These reviews are among the most difficult decisions a Governor can make and the death penalty is the most severe sentence that the state can impose,” Cooper said. “After thorough review, reflection, and prayer, I concluded that the death sentence imposed on these 15 people should be commuted, while ensuring they will spend the rest of their lives in prison.”
No executions have been carried out in North Carolina since 2006 due to ongoing litigation, the press released stated.