A last-minute DNA test has not prevented the execution of Derek Barnabei (33) by lethal injection in Virginia. He died protesting his innocence.
The case attracted attention in Italy because Barnabei was Italian-American. Pope John Paul was among those who appealed for clemency.
Barnabei was convicted in 1995 of raping and killing Sarah Wisnosky (17), a university student. Her naked and battered body was found in the Lafayette River in Norfolk, Virginia.
She was last seen alive in Barnabei's room in a house he shared with other young men. He claimed he had consensual sexual intercourse with her and that she was murdered by someone else.
The governor of Virginia, Mr James Gilmore, ordered DNA tests of material found on the dead girl's finger nails following appeals by Barnabei for the testing, which he said would prove his innocence. But Mr Gilmore said this week the tests had failed to exonerate Barnabei and he ordered the execution to go ahead.
Mr Seth Tucker, lawyer for Barnabei, petitioned Mr Gilmore for clemency, saying that "serious doubts still surround this case".
Some evidence from the case had disappeared from a secure area in the Norfolk court clerk's office last month but later turned up. Mr Gilmore said, however, he was sure no one had tampered with the evidence that was tested. The nail clippings were in a sealed envelope which had not been opened.
Mr Tucker then argued that the DNA test was "meaningless".
Barnabei's lawyers have asked the governor to preserve all the biological evidence and allow them to test it after his execution.