US executes 1,000th prisoner since 1976

Convicted killer Kenneth Lee Boyd was executed early today, becoming the 1000th prisoner put to death since the United States reinstated the death penalty in 1976.

Boyd, 57, was pronounced dead at 2.15am (7.15am Irish time), said North Carolina state Department of Correction spokeswoman Pam Walker. His death at Central Prison, Raleigh, came after both Governor Mike Easley and the US Supreme Court declined to intervene and stop the execution.