Two Executed in Missouri, Texas Prisons
Two men--in Texas and Missouri--were executed early today by lethal injection.
Leonard Laws, 40, was executed for participating in the robbery and shotgun slayings of an elderly couple. He was the second Missouri death row inmate to be executed in the last six days and the third this year. Of the six inmates executed in the United States this year, three have been from Missouri.
In Texas, Johnny Ray Anderson, 30, was executed for the 1981 slaying of his brother-in-law in a scheme to collect $64,000 in insurance money.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to issue a last-minute stay for Anderson, clearing the way for him to be put to death.
Since executions resumed in the United States in 1977, 125 people had been put to death before today. Texas has had 34, more than any other state, and Missouri three.
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