Georgia executed a convicted murderer Tuesday, the first person to be put to death in the United States since the Supreme Court ended a de facto moratorium on capital punishment last month.Witnesses said William Earl Lynd died by lethal injection at a prison in Jackson, in central Georgia, at 7:51 p.m. ET. He was convicted of killing his girlfriend, 26-year-old Ginger Moore, shooting her three times in the face and head nearly 20 years ago.
The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday had denied Lynd's request for a stay of execution, paving the way for him to become the first inmate in the nation to face execution since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that lethal injection is constitutional.
The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles had also rejected Lynd's bid for clemency. Lynd's lawyer, Tom Dunn, had asked Georgia's top court to grant a stay so it could consider new forensic evidence. The court was unanimous in rejecting Lynd's appeal.
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