Missouri Executes Convicted Killer

Appeals denied

Missouri late on Wednesday executed a man convicted of killing a jewelry store owner during a robbery after the U.S. Supreme Court denied last-minute appeals that in part challenged the drug used in the execution.

Herbert Smulls was pronounced dead at 10:20 p.m. local time at a state prison in Bonne Terre after receiving a lethal dose of pentobarbital, a fast-acting barbiturate, Missouri Department of Corrections spokesman Mike O'Connell said.