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Execution warrant signed for Atlanta cop killer

971014 ATLANTA, GA.: -This is Gregory Paul Lawler as seen in a photograph made as he emerged from the hall door and as he was walking into the court room. There is no identification of the correctional officers seen on the left and right of him. --This photo was shot Tuesday, 10/14/97 in the Municipal Court of Atlanta, State of Georgia on the occasion of the State vs Gregory Paul Lawler.
971014 ATLANTA, GA.: -This is Gregory Paul Lawler as seen in a photograph made as he emerged from the hall door and as he was walking into the court room. There is no identification of the correctional officers seen on the left and right of him. --This photo was shot Tuesday, 10/14/97 in the Municipal Court of Atlanta, State of Georgia on the occasion of the State vs Gregory Paul Lawler.
By Rhonda Cook
Oct 6, 2016

A warrant was signed Wednesday setting the execution of cop killer Gregory Lawler for any time during the seven days starting with Oct. 19.

Lawler was sentenced to die for murdering Atlanta police officer John Sowa and critically wounding his partner, Patricia Cocciolone, on Oct. 12, 1997, moments after the two officers had brought home Lawler’s intoxicated girlfriend.

If Lawler is put to death, he will be the seventh person Georgia has executed this year, more than any other year since capital punishment was reinstated in the mid 1970s.

The Department of Corrections sets the specific date and time that the execution will be carried out. Traditionally, it is set for 7 p.m. on the first day of the seven-day window noted in the execution warrant.

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