Longtime South Dakota death row inmate Donald Moeller has been executed. Moeller was twice convicted of raping and murdering 9-year-old Becky O’Connell in 1990.
At 9:38 p.m. Tuesday, the inmate was taken from his holding cell and restrained on a table. Department of Corrections spokesman Michael Winder says IVs were inserted into both of Moeller’s arms and witnesses brought into nearby rooms.
"At 9:59, the warden ordered the curtains be opened. At 10 o'clock, the Secretary of Corrections informed the warden that the warden was cleared to proceed with the execution," Winder says. "There was a last statement made at 10:01 p.m. The injections began at 10:01 p.m."
Three minutes later, the lethal dose of pentobarbital was completed. The coroner pronounced Moeller dead at 10:24 p.m.
For decades, Moeller repeatedly denied any role in killing the girl ago until this month, when he told a federal judge he committed the crimes.