After serving almost two decades on death row for the murder of a female officer during a bank heist, rapper Cool C, popular for his late 80s hit Glamorous Life, will be put to death on January 8. The former rapper was convicted of first-degree murder for the shooting death of Lauretha Vaird when he tried to rob a PNC Bank in January 1996. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett signed the death warrant that will end the rapper’s life on Monday, the New York Daily News reports.
Cool C, whose government name is Christopher Roney, and accomplices Ernest Canty and Warren McGlone were confronted by nine-year veteran Vaird. The female police officer and single mother of two was the first officer on the scene. Roney opened fire and shot Vaird in the abdomen during the early morning hours of January 2 The trio then fled the scene as backup arrived to the scene.
Since his conviction, Roney has denied his involvement in the crime despite eyewitness testimonies that placed him in the bank that morning, forensic and ballistic evidence. Roney’s mother testified that he was home with her while she made breakfast during the time of the robbery. Her testimony did not convince the jury that sentenced the rapper to be executed. An appeal of the death sentence was upheld in 2005. Roney, now 44, was granted a stay of execution until all post-conviction litigation was resolved.
Before his arrest, Cool C made a splash on the rap scene with two solo rap albums I Gotta Habit, in 1989, and Life In The Ghetto, 1990, and one with the group C.E.B, featuring his accomplice Warren McGlone also known as Steady B. However his most popular hit is Glamorous Life, which shows him on the cover with gold chains and hundred dollar bills in his hands. Cool C’s career was in decline in the months prior to Vaird’s death.
McGlone and Canty are serving life in prison.
Source: NY Daily News, AP