Execution of American Convicted of Killing Truck Driver

Authorities in Alabama announced the execution on Thursday of a 64-year-old American convicted of killing a truck driver in 1998, carried out by lethal injection. Keith Edmund Gavin was pronounced dead at 6:32 PM (23:32 UTC), according to a statement from officials. The man, who consistently claimed his innocence, was convicted of shooting William Clayton, a 68-year-old truck driver and father of seven, who was withdrawing money to take his wife to dinner, according to court documents. At the time of the incident, Keith Edmund Gavin was on parole after serving 17 years in prison for a previous murder conviction in Illinois. Two executions have been carried out in Alabama this year, one of which involved nitrogen inhalation, marking a global first that has drawn widespread criticism, with the United Nations labeling it a form of "torture." Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court halted an execution scheduled in Texas following an appeal by the convict’s lawyers. A total of 24 executions were carried out in the United States in 2023, all by lethal injection. The death penalty has been abolished in 23 out of 50 states, while six other states (Arizona, California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee) have paused executions at the governor's discretion.