An undated photo of Alfredo Prieto. Prieto, a Salvadoran immigrant who was convicted of three murders and linked to six others. (AFP PHOTO / HANDOUT / VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS)
Washington:
The state of Virginia late on Thursday executed multiple murderer Alfredo Prieto, rejecting last minute court appeals from lawyers for the Salvadoran man.
Prison officials said in a statement that Prieto, who was put to death by lethal injection, was pronounced dead at 9:17 pm.
His final words, they said, were: "Let's get this over with."
Prieto had been convicted of or linked to nine separate killings across the United States.
His attorneys had filed a lawsuit seeking to temporarily postpone his execution over objections to the protocol of drugs used, but courts rejected their appeals.
Prieto's main attorney, Robert Lee, complained that he had filed an 11th hour appeal on behalf of his client with the US Supreme Court, but that the execution was carried out before the US highest court could render a decision.
"The Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States were considering Mr Prieto's request for a stay of execution but the Virginia Department of Corrections went ahead with the execution without waiting for a decision from the Justices," Lee said in a statement.
The United States remains the only Western country to maintain the death penalty and has carried out 21 executions so far this year.
Prieto's execution was the third scheduled in the United States this week, just two of which were actually carried out.
A Georgia woman was put to death on Tuesday. Missouri officials on Wednesday however postponed the execution of a convicted murderer for more than a month while officials address concerns about the drugs to be used in the execution.
Prison officials said in a statement that Prieto, who was put to death by lethal injection, was pronounced dead at 9:17 pm.
His final words, they said, were: "Let's get this over with."
Prieto had been convicted of or linked to nine separate killings across the United States.
His attorneys had filed a lawsuit seeking to temporarily postpone his execution over objections to the protocol of drugs used, but courts rejected their appeals.
Prieto's main attorney, Robert Lee, complained that he had filed an 11th hour appeal on behalf of his client with the US Supreme Court, but that the execution was carried out before the US highest court could render a decision.
"The Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States were considering Mr Prieto's request for a stay of execution but the Virginia Department of Corrections went ahead with the execution without waiting for a decision from the Justices," Lee said in a statement.
The United States remains the only Western country to maintain the death penalty and has carried out 21 executions so far this year.
Prieto's execution was the third scheduled in the United States this week, just two of which were actually carried out.
A Georgia woman was put to death on Tuesday. Missouri officials on Wednesday however postponed the execution of a convicted murderer for more than a month while officials address concerns about the drugs to be used in the execution.
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