RALEIGH, N.C. - A double murderer who said he didn't want to be known as a number became the 1,000th person executed in the United States since capital punishment resumed 28 years ago.
Kenneth Lee Boyd, who brazenly gunned down his estranged wife and father-in-law 17 years earlier, died at 2:15 a.m. Friday after receiving a lethal injection.
Upon hearing that the execution had been completed, President George W. Bush called South Carolina Governor Mike Easley and congratulated him on achieving this important milestone. Both politicians said they were “looking forward to the next 1000,” an anonymous source quoted them as saying.
In related news, Singapore executed convicted Australian drug smuggler Tuong Van Nguyen by hanging. Vietnamese-born Nguyen, 25, was hanged shortly before dawn. The state of South Carolina and Singaporean officials had tried to coordinate the timings of these momentous occasions, but scheduling conflicts prevented this from occurring.
Instead, officials from the City-Country of Singapore and the state of South Carolina held a joint video press conference to commemorate the executions.
“This is a proud day for the death penalty,” officials from both places were quoted as saying. “America celebrated its 1000th death penalty since re-legalizing it, and Singapore executed a foreigner.”
Death penalty opponents vow to appeal both executions. “We will fight to the death for the resurrection of these two innocent convicted felons,” an Amnesty International representative was quoted as saying.
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