Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell signed the execution warrant yesterday for former Philadelphia rapper Christopher "Cool C" Roney.

Roney, 36, is currently an inmate at Pennsylvania’s State Correctional Institution at Greene and is set to die by lethal injection on March 9.

In October 1996, Roney was found guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Philadelphia police officer and nine-year veteran Lauretha Vaird during a botched January 1996 bank robbery that included rap partner Warren "Steady B" McGlone and a third man.

Vaird was Philadelphia's first female officer ever killed in the line of duty.

While McGlone was convicted as an accomplice and getaway driver, later receiving life in prison, prosecutors asserted that Roney was the triggerman and sentenced him to death.

The sentence was affirmed by the state's Supreme Court a year ago, and a subsequent plea to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied in October 2005.

Roney was a member of rap crew The Hilltop Hustlers in the late 1980s and helped put Philly rappers on the map with singles such as
"Juice Crew Dis" (which was later used by Philadephia rappers Beanie Sigel & Peedi Crack on 'When You Hear'), as well as 1989's hit single, "Glamorous Life."

As a rapper, Roney released two albums, 1989's I Gotta Habit and 1990’s Life in the Ghetto.

In 1993, he joined Steady B and Ultimate Eaze to form the group C.E.B. and released the album Countin' Endless Bank in 1993 on Ruffhouse Records.

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Cool C (b. Christopher Rooney) is a rapper from Philadelphia. He was a member of the Hilltop Hustlers and the group CEB.

Discography

• 1989 I Gotta Habit (Atlantic)
  
• 1990 Life In The Ghetto (Atlantic)

A member of Philadelphia's Hilltop Hustlers crew, Cool C's (Christopher Roney) laid-back and stoned rhymes are best heard on the 1989 singles "I Gotta Habit" and "Glamorous Life" -- the latter of which liberally sampled Sheila E.'s song of the same title. His 1987 debut single gained him a good amount of attention and caught a lot of ears: "Juice Crew Dis" took aim at the New York-based crew run by influential producer Marley Marl (a group that included heavyweights Kool G. Rap and Big Daddy Kane). A pair of 1988 singles for Hilltop and City Beat landed him a contract with Atlantic, where he released his two full-length solo records, 1989's I Gotta Habit and 1990s Life in the Ghetto. A couple years later, he put his solo career aside to join C.E.B. with Ultimate Eaze and Steady B. The trio released 1993's Countin' Endless Bank on Ruffhouse.