US set to resume executions
06/05/2008 14:56 - (SA)
Atlanta - The US state of Georgia moved forward with preparations to execute a man convicted of killing his girlfriend, who on Tuesday night could become the first inmate put to death since the US Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of lethal injection.
Barring a last minute reprieve from the courts, William Earl Lynd will be put to death at 19:00 (2300 GMT), making him the first prisoner executed since September, when the high court took up a challenge to lethal injection and effectively halted all executions nationwide for seven months.
The Supreme Court ruled last month in a Kentucky case that the state's method of executing inmates with a three-drug injection did not violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Prosecutors in several states quickly moved to schedule executions that had been delayed by the court's review. Besides Georgia, Mississippi scheduled an execution for later this month, while Texas announced plans to put a Mexican-born prisoner to death in August.
Lynd's final meal
Lynd has an appeal pending before the Georgia Supreme Court asking for a stay to consider new forensic medical evidence. His lawyer, Tom Dunn, said he will appeal to the US Supreme Court if the Georgia justices rule against him.
Lynd has already selected his final meal: two pepper jack barbecue burgers with crisp onions; two baked potatoes with sour cream, bacon and cheese; and a strawberry milkshake.
Death penalty opponents planned vigils around Georgia on Tuesday.
"In light of the many well-documented problems with our death penalty system, it is disturbing that Georgia is rushing to lead the country in resuming the death penalty machinery," said Laura Moye, chairperson of Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
Agonising death
Lynd, now 53, was sentenced to die for kidnapping and shooting his live-in girlfriend, Ginger Moore, 26, in south Georgia in 1988, after the two consumed Valium, marijuana and alcohol. Prosecutors said she suffered a slow, agonising death, regaining consciousness twice after being shot in the head.
The five-member Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles on Monday rejected Lynd's clemency appeal without comment.
Texas conducted the nation's last execution, putting Michael Richard to death on September 25, the same day the Supreme Court agreed to consider the Kentucky case, brought by two prisoners who claimed the lethal injection method violated the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
On Monday, a Texas judge set an August 5 lethal injection date for Jose Medellin, 33, for his participation in the gang rape and strangulation deaths of two teenage girls when they stumbled upon a gang initiation rite 15 years ago in Houston.
