A man who was sentenced to death for killing his former girlfriend and her stepfather has been executed. Forty-two-year-old John Clayton Smith had waived his remaining appeals. He had said in 2001 that he was ready to die for the 1997 deaths of Brandie Kearns and Wayne Hoewing in northeast Missouri. Governor Holden denied two appeals for clemency that were filed without Smith’s approval and the Supreme Court declined to intervene. Smith was pronounced dead just after midnight at the state prison in Potosi.
Related web sites:
Capital Punishment in Missouri
