Missouri executes man said to be disabled, despite pope's call for clemency

Johnson was born with fetal alcohol syndrome disorder, scored low on IQ tests throughout his life and had the "daily living skills" of a 4-year-old child, his lawyers said

Ernest Johnson was injected with a lethal dose of pentobarbital, a powerful barbiturate, in the state's execution chamber in the city of Bonne Terre. Picture: Texas Dept of Criminal Justic via Reuters

Missouri executed convicted murderer Ernest Johnson on Tuesday evening after both Governor Mike Parson and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to grant the clemency sought by Pope Francis, among others, on the grounds that Johnson was intellectually disabled.

Johnson, 61, was found guilty by a jury of murdering three convenience-store employees in 1994.