Enlarge image
Death row in the USA (archive image)
Photo: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation / Getty Images
The US state of Alabama executed a 52-year-old African American man after 30 years on death row.
"Justice has been served," Attorney General Steve Marshall said after Willie Smith was fatally injected.
Smith was convicted of killing 22-year-old Sharma Ruth Johnson in a 1991 robbery.
In February, Smith was granted a reprieve from his execution by the Supreme Court.
The US Supreme Court found it illegal not to allow Smith to have a priest by his side during the execution.
The prison then announced that it would allow a pastor to be present.
Smith's lawyers had tried other means to stop the execution, arguing that the 52-year-old was unable to choose the death penalty.
In Alabama, nitrogen gas has been used for executions in addition to fatal injections since 2018.
However, Smith, who has a sub-par IQ of around 70, couldn't understand why he could choose this method, his lawyers said.
However, the Supreme Court denied the motion on Thursday.
The death penalty has been abolished in 23 US states, and California, Oregon and Pennsylvania have a moratorium on its use.
US President Joe Biden is an opponent of the death penalty.
wit / AFP