ATLANTA – A Georgia man convicted of forging checks and killing a close friend of his mother is scheduled to be executed Tuesday evening despite his claims of innocence.
Brian Keith Terrell, 47, was to receive a lethal injection planned at 7 p.m. at the state prison in Jackson. He was convicted in the June 1992 killing of John Watson in Covington, a community about 35 miles east of Atlanta.
This undated photo released by the Georgia Department of Corrections shows Brian Keith Terrell.Defense lawyers said Terrell is innocent, that no physical evidence connects him to the crime and prosecutors used false and misleading testimony to get the conviction. State lawyers say courts already have heard and rejected the defense arguments.
The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, the only entity with authority to commute a death sentence in the state, on Monday denied Terrell’s request for clemency. He filed appeals Tuesday after state and federal courts rejected his challenges.
Prosecutors said Terrell was on parole when he stole and forged checks belonging to Watson, who reported the theft but asked police not to pursue charges if Terrell returned most of the money. On the day Terrell was to return the money, he had his cousin drive him to Watson’s house, where he shot the 70-year-old man several times and severely beat him, lawyers for the state have said.