Man executed after clemency bid fails

A MAN convicted of murder during a $15 robbery a decade ago was executed in Ohio yesterday, the seventh in the state this year.

Adremy Dennis, 28, was pronounced dead at 10.10am at the state prison in Lucasville, Ohio, following an injection of lethal chemicals, prison officials said.

His was the 935th execution in the United States since the death penalty was restored in 1976.

Ohio Governor Bob Taft had denied clemency the day before, saying the case had been thoroughly reviewed and the crime was brutal.

Dennis was convicted of aggravated murder for killing Kurt Kyle with a sawn-off shotgun after encountering Kyle and a companion in a driveway in Akron, Ohio.

He took $15 from the companion but killed Kyle when he said he had no money, police said.

Dennis was 18 when the crime occurred in June 1994.

Prison spokeswoman Andrea Dean said Dennis was allowed a special meal the evening before his execution -- fried catfish, lasagne, garlic bread, sweet potato pie, pecan pie and pumpkin pie, all with whipped cream, as well as vanilla and chocolate ice cream.