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January 8 Execution Set For Rapper Convicted Of Killing Philadelphia Police Officer

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A rapper convicted of fatally shooting a Philadelphia police officer is scheduled to be executed Jan. 8.

Gov. Tom Corbett signed a death warrant Friday for Christopher Roney, known as Cool C.

The 44-year-old Roney would be the first person executed in Pennsylvania since 1999.

He was convicted of first-degree murder in the Jan. 2, 1996 death of Officer Lauretha Vaird during a bank holdup.

Roney, who had rap hits with "Glamorous Life" in 1989 and "Life in the Ghetto" in 1990, has maintained He's innocent.

Corbett also authorized the executions of Mark Duane Edwards on Jan. 13 and Dennis Reed on Jan 15.

Edwards was convicted in the 2002 shooting deaths of a couple and their pregnant teenage daughter.

Reed was convicted of fatally shooting his girlfriend in 2001.

(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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