Paul Warner Powell (April 13, 1978 – March 18, 2010) was an American who was executed for the murder of his friend Stacie Reed, 16, in 1999.

Following the vacation of his capital murder conviction on appeal, Powell wrote letters boasting about his crimes under the mistaken belief that he was exempt from punishment by the principle of double jeopardy.

He first attempted to rape her after learning Stacie's current boyfriend was black;[1] Powell was "a self-avowed racist and white supremacist" who objected to interracial relationships.

Powell then drank iced tea and smoked, while waiting for Kristie, Stacie's 14-year-old sister, to come home from school.

[2] Powell was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death, but the verdict was thrown out on appeal by the Virginia Supreme Court.

The court decided that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Powell attempted to rape Stacie and that there were no other aggravating factors that would warrant a death sentence; the fact that Kristie had been raped could not serve as a basis for making Stacie's killing a capital murder.

He made no final statement; however, the day before his death, he spoke to Reed's family by phone and acknowledged the crime "was a senseless and pointless thing" and said he was sorry.