Mississippi executes inmate convicted in 1994 slaying and robbery of motel clerk

Published November 20, 2014

Mississippi has executed a 42-year-old inmate for the 1994 slaying of a motel clerk.

Joseph Daniel Burns was given a lethal injection Wednesday evening at the State Penitentiary at Parchman. Department of Corrections spokesman Kent Crocker said Burns was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. CST.

It was Mississippi's third execution this year.

Burns was convicted in 1996 and was sentenced to death for the slaying of Floyd Melvin McBride at the Town House Motel in Tupelo. Prosecutors said Burns stabbed McBride while an accomplice opened the motel safe, then the two men fled.

The execution was briefly delayed while the U.S. Supreme Court considered and then denied Burns' appeal.

Gov. Haley Barbour earlier denied Burns' clemency request.

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