
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 20, 1990                   TAG: 9004200880
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short

BEDFORD DEATH SENTENCE UPHELD

The Virginia Supreme Court today upheld the death penalty given to Joseph John Savino for the robbery and murder of his homosexual lover in Bedford County.

Savino, 30, pleaded guilty a year ago to the capital murder and robbery of Thomas McWaters Jr. The victim was robbed, beaten with a hammer and stabbed while he slept Nov. 29, 1988 in the farm home he shared with Savino.

The high court ruled that Savino was properly sentenced to death because his long criminal record showed he was likely to commit further violent crimes.

"Moreover, the manner in which McWaters was murdered may be considered in assessing `future dangerousness.' Undeniably, the manner of the murder was excessive and brutal," wrote Justice Roscoe B. Stephenson Jr.

by CNB