Oklahoma City - The US Supreme Court early today denied a last-minute stay of execution for Wanda Jean Allen (41), the first black woman due to be executed for murder in the United States since 1954.
The decision came just two hours before Allen was scheduled to die by lethal injection at 10 p.m. EST (3 a.m. Irish time) in McAlester state prison, about 130 miles south-east of Oklahoma City.
The Supreme Court ruled just hours after a federal appeals court and Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating also declined to grant a 30-day stay sought by Allen's lawyers and supporters, including the civil rights activist, the Rev Jesse Jackson.