HOUSTON, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The central U.S. state of Oklahoma on Thursday executed a man convicted of murdering a 10-year-old girl in 2006, which marked the country's 25th and final execution in 2024.
The state uses a three-drug lethal injection process that begins with the sedative midazolam followed by a second drug that paralyzes the inmate and a third that stops the heart, The Associated Press reported.
Kevin Ray Underwood, a former grocery store worker, was pronounced dead at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Thursday is his 45th birthday.
"The decision to execute me on my birthday and six days before Christmas was a needlessly cruel thing to do to my family," Underwood said before the execution, "but I'm very sorry for what I did and I wish I could take it back."
"This doesn't bring our Jamie back but it does allow the space in our hearts to focus on her and allow the healing process to begin," said Lori Pate, the victim's sister.
Underwood admitted to luring Jamie Rose Bolin into his apartment and beating her over the head with a cutting board before suffocating and sexually assaulting her.
