"An Arizona man accused of crucifying a pastor and placing a crown of thorns on the victim's head has requested the death penalty so everyone "can move on with our lives."
Adam Sheafe, who is representing himself, asked the judge last week to allow him to enter a guilty plea, so the case can wrap up quickly,
Sheafe, 51, is accused of murdering William Schonemann, the pastor of New River Bible Chapel, in April 2025 before mutilating the man's body. Schonemann was found dead with his arms spread out in his bed and his hands pinned to a wall, authorities said.
The suspect previously confessed to the crime and has never claimed to be innocent.
His request for the death penalty on Thursday echoes comments he made a year ago, when he said he wanted to be executed immediately.
"Put me on death row, set the execution date for right now," Sheafe told 12News at the time. "The victims want it. The victim's families want it. I want it, and the taxpayers want it."
Sheafe told Fox 10 last year that the murder of Schonemann, 76, was part of a plot targeting more than a dozen Christian leaders across the country in a mission he called "Operation First Commandment.
Sheafe said that he intended to “crucify” more than a dozen victims, all pastors and priests, in Alabama, Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. e was apprehended breaking into a home in Sedona, Arizona, where he said he was planning another murder."
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