US inmate executed for relative's 1994 death

MCALESTER, Oklahoma - A death row inmate in the state of Oklahoma whose execution was postponed three times has been put to death for the 1994 murder of his 77-year-old great-uncle.

A state Department of Corrections spokesman says 38-year-old Jeffrey David Matthews was pronounced dead at 6:09 p.m. local time at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. Matthews was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Otis Earl Short, who was shot during a robbery at his home.

In his final statement, Matthews told his family he was "enjoying my last moments."

Former Gov. Brad Henry twice granted stays last year to give defence attorneys time to investigate Matthews' claims of innocence. A third stay was granted after defence attorneys objected to plans to substitute a drug in his lethal injection.

Matthews is the second Oklahoma inmate executed this year.

-AP