Georgia has executed an inmate who was convicted of forging checks and killing his mother's friend, the state's Department of Corrections confirmed. Brian Keith Terrell, 47, was put to death on Wednesday at 12:52 a.m. at the state prison in Jackson, corrections said in a statement, according to the Associated Press.
The inmate was convicted of malice murder for killing 70-year-old John Watson of Covington, which is located east of Atlanta, in June 1992.
Terrell pilfered checks that belonged to Watson, who was a friend of his mother's. The older man had asked Terrell to simply pay him back and he wouldn't press charges. Prosecutors argued that instead of paying, Terrell shot him dead. He is now the fifth inmate executed in the state in 2015 alone, according to ABC News.
Defense attorneys contended that no evidence linked Terrell to the murder and that the prosecutors concocted a testimony that was "false" and "misleading" so they could ensure to get a conviction with death penalty.
The state's Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected Terrell's request for clemency on Monday, according to WTSP 10 News.
