The US state of Texas executed a man convicted of a violent triple murder, who was the first to get a stay of execution due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
John Hummel, 45, received a lethal injection at the Huntsville penitentiary and was pronounced dead at 6.49pm local time (12.49am Irish time).
Hummel was handed the death penalty after he murdered his five-year-old daughter, his pregnant wife and his father-in-law in 2009 before setting fire to their home in Fort Worth, Texas.
According to prosecutors, he wanted to start a new life with another woman.
He was originally scheduled to be executed on 17 March, 2020, but an appeals court pushed back the deadline in extremis "in light of the current health crisis."
The court also pointed out that an execution requires "enormous resources," including mandating that dozens of prison guards, lawyers, witnesses, and members of his family and the victims' to be present, increasing the risk of spreading Covid-19.
As a result of the pandemic, executions were suspended for months throughout the United States.
Texas reopened its execution chamber on 19 May to execute Quintin Jones, a 41-year-old man sentenced to death for the 1999 murder of his great-aunt.
Authorities set off a backlash from anti-death penalty activists when they failed to invite reporters to witness the execution, as has been customary for decades.
Since the start of the year, with the exception of Texas, only the federal government has carried out executions - three, just before former president Donald Trump left office.
