According to NBC Philadelphia, Christopher Roney b.k.a. Cool C, has been granted a last-minute stay of execution—which is defined as a temporary suspension of execution—by Philadelphia judge L. Felipe Restrepo. Roney, who through tracks such as "Juice Crew Dis" and "The Glamorous Life" helped establish Philadelphia as a city with a hip-hop scene every part as vibrant as New York's, was set to be put to death on Thursday for a 1997 conviction which found him guilty of the 1996 murder of Philadelphia police officer Lauretha Vaird.On January 2, 1996, it is alleged that Roney and two other local rappers—Warren McGlone a.k.a. Steady B, who along with Roney was a member of Philly's C.E.B. crew, as well as Mark Canty—were attempting to rob a local branch of a P.N.C. bank when Roney shot and killed Officer Vaird.The stay of execution is Roney's second, following one granted by a judge in 2006. Roney has maintained his innocence through the entire process.
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