Famed Philadelphia rapper Cool C is slated to be executed in January after serving 18 years in prison for the 1996 murder of a police officer following a failed bank robbery.
According to HipHopDX, Cool C was convicted with the first degree murder of Philadelphia police officer Lauretha Vaird, who attempted to end a robbery attempt by C, fellow rapper Steady B and Mark Canty. C was sentenced to death at a subsequent hearing.
The hip-hop news site also reports that Cool C will be put to death via lethal injection on January 8, 2015. He was originally sentenced to die on March 9, 2006, but he was granted a delay of the execution by Pennsylvania's governor.
As reported by Philly Mag, Vaird was wearing a bulletproof vest without its protective panels. She was killed by a single shot to the abdomen. Vaird would go on to carry a legacy as the first female officer in Philadelphia to be killed in the line of duty.
Prior to the robbery and shooting, Cool C was best known as a member of C.E.B., a 1980's hip-hop group. C released his debut and highest acclaimed album I Gotta Habit in 1989. The album featured the single "The Glamorous Life," a Billboard-charting track and Juice Crew diss.
According to reports, Cool C has maintained his innocence. He and his mother both claim the once popular rapper was home cooking breakfast at the time of the robbery and shooting despite the testimony of three eyewitnesses who placed him at the scene. Ballistic and forensic evidence and surveillance video have also linked C to the murder.
Steady B and Canty were both sentenced to life in prison without parole.
