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 Andre Cole, 52, was killed by lethal injection and pronounced dead
at 10:24 p.m. at the state's death chamber in Bonne Terre, Missouri.
He became the 12th inmate executed in the U.S. and the third in
Missouri in 2015.
Cole did not provide a final written statement, prison officials
said.
Cole was divorced from his wife, Terri, in 1995. He fell $3,000
behind in child support for the couple's two children and his wages
were ordered garnished, court records show.
After the first garnishment in August 1998, Cole broke into his
ex-wife's home and stabbed her and a male friend repeatedly. The
ex-wife survived but her friend did not. Cole was convicted of
first-degree murder and first-degree assault as well as armed
criminal action and first-degree burglary, court records state.
 Cole's attorneys argued that his death sentence was unfair because
he was an African-American condemned to death by an all-white jury.
They also argued that he suffered from psychosis, including
hallucinations that affected his ability to understand why he was
facing execution.
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In addition, Cole was one of several Missouri death row inmates who
have alleged the state's lethal injection protocol violates a
constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday evening denied a request for a
stay of execution.
(Reporting by Carey Gillam in Kansas City; Brendan O'Brien in
Milwaukee; editing by Andrew Hay)
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