ROANOKE TIMES

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

DATE: SATURDAY, April 21, 1990                   TAG: 9004210060
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short


DEATH SENTENCE UPHELD IN SLAYING OF BEDFORD MAN

The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday 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.



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