Connecticut prison officials put serial killer Michael Ross to death by lethal injection today in the first execution in liberal-minded New England in 45 years.
State officials said that shortly after 6 am, Ross was administered a chemical cocktail at the Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers, Connecticut. The drugs sedated him, paralysed his muscles, and stopped his heart. He was pronounced dead at 6.25 am.
Ross admitted killing eight women in the 1980s. Although he said he was personally opposed to the death penalty, he wanted his execution to serve as closure for his victims' families, and last year he waived all remaining appeals.
Between 200 and 300 people, many praying aloud, marched to Osborn from a staging area about a mile away in protest at the execution.
Ross was originally set to die in January, but legal appeals delayed his execution several times.
His death sparked much public debate in the northeast United States, where executions are rare. Most executions in America take place in southern states.
Death penalty foes around New England were frustrated by Ross's insistence on being executed, making him what capital punishment experts call a "volunteer."