WASHINGTON - The US state of Missouri executed on Tuesday a 49-year-old convicted murderer by lethal injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre, reported German news agency (dpa).
The man had been sentenced to death for raping and murdering a nine-year-old girl in 2007. Shortly before his execution, both the governor and the Supreme Court had refused to halt the death penalty.
In a statement, Republican Governor Mike Parson said the accused "has received every protection afforded by the Missouri and the United States Constitutions" and that the "conviction and sentence remain for his horrendous and callous crime".
According to the Death Penalty Information Centre, 23 people have been executed in the US so far this year, including the execution in Missouri. So far, 23 of the 50 US states have abolished the death penalty. In several other states, it is no longer effectively enforced. - BERNAMA-dpa