Convicted killer built Ruth Graham’s coffin

NEW ORLEANS – Shortly before he died, convicted murderer Richard Liggett was asked to make two of the simple plywood coffins he crafted for fellow prisoners. Except the caskets would be for Billy and Ruth Graham.

“Humbled? He was honored,” said Burl Cain, warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary. “He told me, of everything that ever happened in his life, the most profound thing was to build this coffin for Billy Graham and his family.”

Graham’s son Franklin made the request after seeing the coffins at the Angola prison, according to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Ruth Graham was buried in one Sunday at a private ceremony at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C. She died Thursday at age 87.

The coffins are made of birch plywood and lined with a foam mattress pad covered with fabric. Brass handles are on the sides, while a cross adorns the top. The price: $215 each.

Liggett, who was serving a life sentence for second-degree murder, led a team of prisoners who built the coffins. He had found God in prison, Cain said.

Liggett died of cancer in March, nearly 31 years into his sentence. He was buried in one of the last coffins he built, Cain said.