Prosecutor wants death penalty case file sealed

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A prosecutor wants to keep the public from seeing the motions and other information in the file of a man charged with murder and rape in the deaths of a Richland County mother and daughter four years ago.

Prosecutor Dan Johnson would not tell The State newspaper (http://bit.ly/u4gWk8 ) why he wants to seal Julian Whatley’s file in the death penalty case, saying the reasons will come out at a hearing on the matter.

Documents already filed show Whatley is willing to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence and that two relatives of the victims are willing to accept a plea bargain.

Investigators say Whatley raped 45-year-old Crystal Ferguson and her 9-year-old daughter, Hillary Wright, then threw gasoline in their home and burned them to death in 2007.

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Information from: The State, http://www.thestate.com