Feb 22, 2021Seven people have been killed after a Nigerian military plane crashed short of the runway in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. The plane had previously reported engine failure. The plane was headed to try and rescue 42 people who had been kidnapped. Pray for the families of the deceased. Pray for the safety of those who have been kidnapped.
Feb 22, 2021Protests continue in Myanmar against the military coup that seized control of the country on February 1, 2021, overthrowing and imprisoning elected government officials. At least two people have died in the protests. Pray for the families of the deceased. Pray for a peaceful resolution.
Feb 22, 2021At least six students are thought to have died in an attack against a bus in the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia. The identity of the attackers in unknown at this time. The bus was carrying students who had just graduated and was being escorted by soldiers. Pray for the students and their families. Pray for peace.
Feb 22, 2021On much of Israel’s Mediterranean coastline, large globs of tar have washed up, thought to be from a ship spilling oil, which officials are attempting to track. Thousands of volunteers are helping clear the tar and animals. Pray for the safety of the workers.
Feb 22, 2021Troops from both China and India have agreed to pull back troops from a disputed border area. Within the last year, Chinese and Indian troops have clashed, with at least 24 being killed. Pray for the families of the deceased. Pray for continuing peace.
Feb 26, 2021Ramiro Rubi Ibarra is scheduled to be executed at 6 pm local time, on Thursday, March 4, 2021, at the Walls Unit of the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. Sixty-six-year-old Ramiro is convicted of murdering 16-year-old Maria De La Paz Zuniga on March 6, 1987, in Waco, Texas.
Feb 22, 2021Forty-three-year-old Luca Attanasio, the Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, has died after the convoy he was traveling in came under fire. Two others also died in the attack, which is believed to have been a kidnapping attempt carried out by an unknown group. Pray for the families of the deceased. Pray for peace.
Mark Edwards, Jr., Pennsylvania
July 9, 2020
In 2015, Fayette County President Judge James Wagner Jr. resentenced Mark Edwards to four consecutive life sentences. Edwards, originally sentenced to death, had his sentence reduced after Judge Wagner ruled that Edwards had an intellectual disability that made him ineligible for the death sentence, in accordance with a 2002 US Supreme Court decision and Pennsylvania state law.
Update: Monday, January 12, 2015, 12:24 pm EST
Mark Duane Edwards, Jr. was scheduled to be executed at 7 pm EST, on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, at the State Correctional Institute Rockview, in Rockview, Pennsylvania. His execution has been stayed. Thirty-two-year-old Mark is convicted of the murder of 50-year-old Larry A. Bobish, Sr., 42-year-old Joanna Marian Bobish, and 17-year-old Krystal Leigh Bobish, who was 28-weeks pregnant, on April 14, 2002, in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Mark also attempted to kill 12-year-old Larry Bobish, Jr. Mark has spent the last 10 years of his life on Pennsylvania’s death row.
Mark did not have a significant criminal history. He was addicted to drugs during the time of the murder. Mark also alleged that he was borderline mentally incompetent.
On April 12, 2002, Mark Edwards and a friend allegedly stole six bottles of a street drug called “wet” from Larry Bobish at gunpoint. Over the next two days, Larry repeatedly contacted Edwards asking for payment. Edwards was heard threatening to kill the Bobishes.
On April 14, 2002, Edwards arrived at the Bobish homes and was let inside by Larry. After talking with Larry, Edwards pulled an automatic handgun and Larry in the chest. Edwards then ran into the living room and shot Larry, Jr., in the neck. Next, Edwards went into a bedroom and shot Larry’s wife, Joanna, in the neck. Also in the bedroom was Larry and Joanna’s daughter, Krystal, who was 28 weeks pregnant. Edwards shot Krystal twice. After Krystal fell, he kicked her in the stomach. Larry, Jr., who was injured but alive, attempted to stop Edwards. Edwards cut his neck before setting fire to the house and fleeing the scene. Larry, Jr. was able to escape from the house once he realized it was on fire, and was discovered by an off-duty police officer. He was also later able to identify the man who killed the rest of his family.
Edwards was arrested four days later. He confessed to the killing of Larry, Sr., and Joanna, but did not remember shooting Krystal or Larry, Jr.
This is Mark Edwards second execution warrant. Mark was granted a stay of execution by President Judge John F. Wagner, Jr. of the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas. The stay was granted in order to allow time for Mark to complete his appeals.
Please pray for peace and healing for the Bobish’s family. Please pray for strength for the family of Mark Edwards. Please pray that if Mark is innocent, the truth will be revealed before he is executed. Please pray that Mark may come to find peace through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, if he has not already.
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20 Mar 2014
