The state Attorney General’s office released a statement that confirmed Brannan was executed at 8:33 PM EST at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison (GDCP) by way of lethal injection.
It marks the first execution of 2015 in the U.S.
Earlier Tuesday the Georgia Supreme Court denied Andrew Brannan a request for clemency based on his claims that he suffered post traumatic stress disorder.
"Mr. Brannan's case makes clear that it is time for this court to recognize a categorical exemption from execution for American combat veterans whose service to this country resulted in severe mental trauma,” said the defense in one of the failed petitions to the top federal court.
Brannan’s attorneys did not deny that he shot Laurens County Deputy Sheriff Kyle Dinkheller nine times during a routine traffic stop. The incident was recorded in a dashcam video from Dinkheller’s patrol car.
His attorneys petitioned for a life sentence in lieu of the death penalty, arguing that he should not be put to death for actions that were impacted by his mental illness, and that he had no prior criminal record. Experts in his trial had testified that Brannan experienced a combat flashback at the time of the shooting, but a court-appointed psychiatrist believed Brannan was completely sane.
The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency after carefully reviewing Brannan’s case.
Kyle Dinkheller’s father, Kirk Dinkheller, changed his Facebook profile picture on Tuesday to a photograph of his son's headstone.
"Nothing will ever bring my son back, but finally some justice for the one who took him from his children and his family," he wrote on the social media site earlier this month.
One of Brannan’s attorneys, Joe Loveland, told Yahoo News that this case has stimulated the interest of many veterans.
Loveland said his client responded, "I am proud to have been able to walk point for my comrades, and pray that the same thing does not happen to any of them.”
