MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Marcel Williams, sentenced to death in 1997 for murdering a woman, was executed using a lethal injection in the late hours of Monday after a failed last-minute appeal, Arkansas Online reported.
Jack Jones, also sentenced to death over 20 years ago for killing a woman, was executed several hours earlier.
Lawyers reportedly said Jones' execution was inhumane, with the inmate showing signs of consciousness as he gulped for air after injections. A state authority spokesperson, in turn, claimed the execution was carried out "flawlessly."
These followed the execution of Ledell Lee several days before with another due in several days' time as Arkansas proceeds to carry out eight death sentences in just 10 days after 12 years without a single execution. The state is seeking to end the lives of its death row inmates just days before its lethal injection stockpile expires on April 30.
The Unites States saw its previous double execution in Texas in 2000.
