Vatican City - Pope John Paul II appealed yesterday for clemency for Derek Barnabei, a 34-year-old Italian-American, due to be executed today.
Barnabei was convicted of raping and murdering his girlfriend, 17-year-old student Sarah Wisnosky, in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1993. A US federal judge on Tuesday rejected a petition from his lawyers to stay his execution, rebutting their claim that Barnabei's rights had been violated.