Frank James Coppola
Encyclopedia
Frank James Coppola was a police officer
from Portsmouth, Virginia
who was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1978 capital murder of Muriel Hatchell, although he maintained his innocence until his execution. According to reports, a co-conspirator with Coppola disguised herself as a flower delivery woman to enter her home, the woman pulled out a pistol from amidst the floral display which she was carrying, allowing cover for Coppola and others to rush into the home.
Hatchell was bound with Venetian blind cords and then had her head slammed repeatedly into the floor, allegedly by Coppola, until she died. The group fled with $3,100 in cash and some rings from the crime scene. On September 26, 1978, Coppola was convicted of first-degree capital murder and sentenced to death in Virginia
's electric chair
. He waived his appeals and was executed on August 10, 1982, the first person executed in Virginia since the Supreme Court reinstituted capital punishment
in 1976. He was also the first person executed in Virginia since 1962.
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
from Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
who was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1978 capital murder of Muriel Hatchell, although he maintained his innocence until his execution. According to reports, a co-conspirator with Coppola disguised herself as a flower delivery woman to enter her home, the woman pulled out a pistol from amidst the floral display which she was carrying, allowing cover for Coppola and others to rush into the home.
Hatchell was bound with Venetian blind cords and then had her head slammed repeatedly into the floor, allegedly by Coppola, until she died. The group fled with $3,100 in cash and some rings from the crime scene. On September 26, 1978, Coppola was convicted of first-degree capital murder and sentenced to death in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
's electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
. He waived his appeals and was executed on August 10, 1982, the first person executed in Virginia since the Supreme Court reinstituted capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
in 1976. He was also the first person executed in Virginia since 1962.
See also
- List of individuals executed in Virginia
- Capital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
Sources
- U.S. Executions Since 1976
- http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=8&did=478