Missouri Executes Inmate For Killing Two Women

BONNE TERRE, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri inmate has been put to death for killing two St. Louis County women in 1996, marking the state's fifth execution this year.

John Winfield was executed Wednesday by lethal injection at 12:01 a.m. and was pronounced dead at 12:10 a.m., a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety said.

Winfield took four or five deep breaths as the drug was injected, puffed his cheeks twice and then fell silent, all in a matter of a few seconds.

His execution at the state prison in Bonne Terre came shortly after convicted killer Marcus Wellons was put to death in Georgia. Wellons' was the first execution in the nation since a botched execution on April 29 in Oklahoma raised new concerns about lethal injection.

Another convicted killer, John Ruthell Henry, is scheduled to die later Wednesday in Florida.

Winfield shot his ex-girlfriend, who was the mother of two of his children, in the head, leaving her blind. He shot and killed two of her friends.

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