Jerome Mallett, 42, was put to death at 12:06 a

Jerome Mallett, 42, was put to death at 12:06 a.m. by injection in the death chamber of the Potosi Correctional Center. The execution was delayed for about one minute when the first drug, which was supposed to render Mallett unconscious, apparently did not take effect immediately. Mallett could be seen looking toward the Froemsdorf family and twice appeared to say, "I'm sorry." He then became unconscious. Jerome Mallet was sentenced in 1985 to death after being found guilty of killing a Missouri state highway patrolman, James Froemsdorf. There were serious racial overtones in the case - Jerome is an African-American and the victim was a Caucasian - counsel requested that the case be sent to a county with an African-American population so that Jerome would have a possibility of having members of his race on his jury. The judge arbitrarily transferred the case to Schuyler County, a county containing no African-American residents. Jerome's requests that the case be sent elsewhere, and that the judge disqualify himself were denied. Jerome's conviction and sentence of death were affirmed on direct appeal in a 4-3 decision. The post-conviction judge found that the change of venue excluded all members of Jerome's race from the jury in violation of his Constitutional rights and set aside his conviction; however, the Missouri Supreme Court overturned this decision. Jerome's petition for certiorari was denied by one vote over the dissents of Justices Marshall, Brennan and Blackmun. Jerome was then one of the four Missouri inmates featured in the "We, On Death Row" publication by Benetton. The Missouri Attorney General sued Benetton and the participating individuals for showing a human face to those on death row. On June 16, in the same press release announcing that, the Benetton lawsuit was dismissed, the Missouri Attorney General announced Jerome's July 11 execution. Hands off Cain and the Bienal de Valencia, where Jerome Mallet picture's by Oliviero Toscani was exposed, made a press conference on June 28, to appeal Governor Holden to give clemency, but, on July 10, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Mallett's final appeal, and Gov. Bob Holden refused to reduce his sentence to life in prison.