February Death Date Set For Man In Child’s Murder

MANSFIELD, La. (AP) — A Feb. 13 execution date has been set for a former Mansfield man convicted of killing his stepson more than 20 years ago.

State District Judge Robert Burgess in DeSoto Parish set Chris Sepulvado's death date on Wednesday over the objections of defense attorney Marty Stroud. The Times of Shreveport reports that Stroud pledged an appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court (http://bit.ly/128NQ9c).

A DeSoto Parish jury in April 1993 imposed the death penalty for Sepulvado for the March 8, 1992, death of 6-year-old Wesley Allen Mercer.

Prosecutors said Sepulvado hit Allen so hard in the head with a screwdriver handle that it rendered him unconscious. He then immersed Allen in a bathtub of scalding water that caused severe burns.