Arkansas Department of Corrections/Reuters
Authorities in Arkansas executed their fourth inmate in eight days on Thursday as part of the state’s controversial plan to use up a lethal-injection drug before it expires. Inmate Kenneth Williams was pronounced dead at 11:05 p.m., authorities said. A prison spokesman said Williams shook for about 10 seconds shortly after the injection, though no further details were provided, the Associated Press reported. Williams was sentenced to death for killing a former deputy warden after a prison break in 1999. He had already been serving life for killing a college cheerleader. Williams’ lawyers had appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution, arguing that he was intellectually disabled. The court rejected that argument about two hours before the death warrant expired, however, and allowed the execution to go on as planned.