Path cleared for Georgia man's execution

ATLANTA, May 5 (UPI) -- A Georgia death row inmate who was refused clemency Monday is in line to become the first prisoner executed since lethal injection was ruled constitutional.

The Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles declined to grant clemency to William Lynd, allowing his Tuesday execution to proceed, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Lynd was convicted of the 1988 slaying of his live-in girlfriend.

The newspaper reported Lynd would be the first inmate in the United States to be executed by lethal injection since last month's U.S. Supreme Court decision ruling supporting the legality of the procedure. Lethal injection executions had been suspended since September awaiting the high court's decision.

Lynd was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend, Virginia Moore, by shooting her in the face after an argument, leaving her for dead, and then shooting her twice more when he discovered she was still alive. Lynd was also convicted of kidnapping Moore by stuffing her into the trunk of a car and driving off while she was still alive.