Tuesday night, inmate Donald Moeller died by lethal injection at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. He was convicted of raping and murdering a nine-year-old girl in 1990. Weeks ago, Moeller admitted to the crime after decades of denial.
Michael Winder is the spokesman for the South Dakota Department of Corrections. He details the timeline of Donald Moeller's death sentence and reads verbatim the words spoken within the execution chamber.
Tina Curl is the mother of Becky O'Connell, the girl Moeller brutally murdered 22 years ago. She and her husband, David, traveled back to South Dakota from their home in New York to watch her daughter's killer die. They react to the execution and reveal what Becky may have looked like had she lived to age 32.
Two media witnesses are allowed to view a South Dakota execution. Kristi Eaton with the Associated Press and Steve Young with the Sioux Falls Argus Leader watched Donald Moeller die. Below is their account of the lethal injection.