Convicted Atlanta cop killer faces Oct. 19 execution

ATLANTA — A convicted cop killer is set to be executed on Oct. 19.

Gregory Paul Lawler, 63, was convicted in 2000 of the October 1997 murder of Atlanta Police Officer John Sowa. If executed, Lawler will be the 44th inmate put to death by lethal injection.

According to prosecutors, Lawler opened fire on two Atlanta police officers after they went to his apartment while trying to help his drunken girlfriend get home. Officers encountered the woman after she was arguing with Lawler in a nearby parking lot, according to authorities.

The Georgia Supreme Court on Jan. 27, 2003, unanimously affirmed Lawler’s convictions and death sentence. The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 6, 2003, denied Lawler’s request to appeal; the nation’s highest court declined another appeal this year.