This was the 23rd execution in the country since the beginning of the year
A man sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a girl in 2007 was executed in Missouri on Tuesday, the prison administration of this state in the central United States announced.
This was the 23rd execution in the country since the beginning of the year, all by lethal injection, except three by nitrogen inhalation in Alabama (southeast), a controversial method, and the fourth in Missouri.
Christopher Collings, 49, was sentenced to death in 2012 for the rape and murder of Rowan Ford, a friend’s 9-year-old stepdaughter, who he kidnapped, raped and strangled when he realized he had been recognized, according to court documents.
He threw the body in a hole, where it was found a few days later.
Christopher Collings’ lawyers have exhausted all legal avenues, with the US Supreme Court rejecting their request for a stay of execution on Monday.
Missouri’s Republican governor, Mike Parson, on Monday rejected the latest calls for clemency.
The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states. Six others (Arizona, California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee) are observing a moratorium on executions by decision of the governor.
