59-year-old is executed by lethal injection for double murder in the US. US Vice President Harris will travel to the UN climate conference in Biden’s place

More than 20 years after he shot two men, a convicted murderer has been executed in the US state of Oklahoma. The 59-year-old was killed by lethal injection at a prison in McAlester on Thursday morning (local time), regional newspaper ‘The Oklahoman’ reported.

Shortly before, Republican Governor Kevin Stitt had rejected a request for clemency. The convicted killer until recently claimed he killed the two men, aged 37 and 58, in 2001 in self-defense. They attacked him and wanted to lock him in a cage, he said. But he managed to take the gun from them.

The shooter was eventually sentenced to death for double murder in 2004. An appeal against the decision failed. Shortly before the execution, a parole board narrowly voted that the 59-year-old should not be killed and instead remain in prison for life. But the commission’s recommendations are not binding on the governor. Stitt had already rejected clemency requests in the past.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 24 people were executed in the United States last year. In total, 23 of the 50 states have abolished the death penalty to date.

(hah/sda/dpa)