William Charles Morva (February 9, 1982 – July 6, 2017) was an American-Hungarian man convicted of the 2006 shooting deaths of Sheriff's Deputy Corporal Eric Sutphin, 40, and hospital security guard Derrick McFarland, 32, in the town of Blacksburg, Virginia.

[3][4] The shooting deaths occurred near the university campus of Virginia Tech while he awaited trial for attempted armed robbery.

A jury sentenced him to death on June 23, 2008, but some doctors[clarification needed] stated that he had a serious mental illness,[5] a delusional disorder that caused him to kill.

They requested that Governor McAuliffe, in light of evidence concerning Morva's true mental state, commute his sentence from death to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

[11] The daughter of sheriff's deputy Sutphin, one of the two men slain by Morva, expressed her support for his clemency petition and asked the Governor to spare his life.

They stated that, although Morva lost his battle for clemency, "they hope by improving access to proper evaluation and treatment for persons living with severe mental illness, we can avoid future tragedies.

Charles Morva worked as a substitute teacher at Blacksburg High School and barista at a local coffee shop until moving back to the Richmond area with his wife Elizabeth.

A self-professed survivalist, he was almost always without shoes, ate only raw meat, berries, and pine cones, and spoke of spending nights in the woods around Blacksburg.

[21] On August 18, 2005, William Morva and another young man, both armed and wearing masks, approached the Blacksburg Deli Mart but left because the store was closed and locked.

[24][25] This initiated a manhunt for Morva, who, on the morning of August 21, 2006, shot and killed Montgomery County sheriff's deputy Cpl.

[citation needed] On August 29, 2006, Commonwealth's Attorney Brad Finch announced that William Morva would be charged with capital murder and use of a firearm in the shooting death of McFarland.

A second capital murder charge would be sought in the shooting death of Sutphin, to be decided on at the grand jury meeting on October 10, 2006.

On September 20, Judge Ray Grubbs ruled, following a jury selection process in which 45 prospective jurors were dismissed for cause, that the trial could not be held in Montgomery County.

[35] The Virginia Supreme Court rejected the defense's claim that he should have been allowed to present an expert's testimony on whether he would endanger guards or fellow inmates if the jury sentenced him to life in prison without parole.

[36] On July 24, 2009, he was called to appear in Christiansburg by video conferencing to testify for the defense in a trial for his brother Michael Morva, who was charged with helping him escape from the Montgomery County Jail nearly three years before.

[38] On April 12, 2013, the Supreme Court of Virginia issued a published order dismissing Morva's petition for habeas corpus that challenged his convictions for capital murder.

[42] On May 9, 2017, as per a request by Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring four days prior, Morva's execution date was set for Thursday, July 6, 2017.

They petitioned the Governor to commute Morva's sentence from death to life in prison without the possibility of parole and to start treating him with antipsychotic drugs.

[43] On June 28, 2017, Linda A. Klein, the president of the American Bar Association (ABA), wrote to Governor McAuliffe to express concern over the scheduled execution of Morva.

[44] On June 29, 2017, advocacy groups presented petition signatures of over 31,000 persons to Governor McAuliffe's office, urging him to grant clemency to Morva.

Vivian E. Watts; five (5) senators: Sen. Adam Ebbin, Sen. Barbara Favola, Sen. Lionell Spruill, Sr., Sen. Mamie E. Locke and Sen. Scott Surovell, Minority Whip Alfonso Lopez, and House Democratic leader David Toscano, all joined this call for clemency.

[47] Members of Congress also voiced their support for clemency, including three Democratic United States House Representatives: Bobby Scott, Gerald "Gerry" Connolly, and Don Beyer.

[50] On July 5, 2017, two rights experts from the United Nations urged McAuliffe to halt the execution of a man with a psychosocial disability.

In 2008, Governor Tim Kaine commuted Percy Levar Walton's death sentence amid concerns about his competency.