Ernest Johnson, 55, was scheduled to die by lethal injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre, Missouri. The US Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a separate motion to halt the execution.
Johnson was convicted of bludgeoning to death Mary Bratcher, Mabel Scrubbs and Fred Jones using a hammer, a screw driver and a gun, according to court records. Defense attorneys have argued in unsuccessful appeals that he has an intellectual disability and is not therefore eligible for execution.A total of 25 people have been executed in the United States so far this year, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, including six in Missouri.