Mississippi Executes Man for '94 Slaying

33rd Execution of 2010

Mississippi executed Joseph Daniel Burns for the 1994 murder of a motel clerk.

According to the Associated Press, Burns was given a lethal injection last evening at the State Penitentiary at Parchman. The Department of Corrections said Burns was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. CST.

It was Mississippi's third execution this year and 13th since reimposing the death penalty. Burns' execution marked the 1,221st execution nationwide during the modern era of the death penalty.

The Associated Press reported that Burns was convicted in 1996 and was sentenced to death for the slaying of Floyd Melvin McBride at the Town House Motel in Tupelo. Prosecutors said Burns stabbed McBride while an accomplice opened the motel safe, then the two men fled.

In the hours leading up to his scheduled execution, Burns visited with his three daughters, his mother and his sister, as well as the State Penitentiary chaplain. Burns' mother and his sister witnessed his execution.

He made no request for a last meal but ate turkey and roast beef sandwiches in the afternoon.

The execution was briefly delayed while the U.S. Supreme Court considered and then denied Burns' appeal. Gov. Haley Barbour earlier denied Burns' clemency request.

To read more: http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20100721/NEWS/100721020/Epps++Death+row+inmate+accepts+fate