Clemency denied for Georgia man; execution set for tonight

This undated photo provided by The Georgia Department of Corrections shows Marion Wilson Jr. Wilson, convicted of killing an off-duty prison guard in Georgia more than two decades ago, is scheduled for execution later this month. State Attorney General Chris Carr announced in a news release Wednesday, June 5, 2019, that Wilson is scheduled to die on June 20 at the state prison in Jackson, Ga. Wilson and Robert Earl Butts Jr. were convicted of murder and sentenced to death in the March 1996 slaying of Donovan Corey Parks. (Georgia Department of Corrections via AP)
This undated photo provided by The Georgia Department of Corrections shows Marion Wilson Jr. Wilson, convicted of killing an off-duty prison guard in Georgia more than two decades ago, is scheduled for execution later this month. State Attorney General Chris Carr announced in a news release Wednesday, June 5, 2019, that Wilson is scheduled to die on June 20 at the state prison in Jackson, Ga. Wilson and Robert Earl Butts Jr. were convicted of murder and sentenced to death in the March 1996 slaying of Donovan Corey Parks. (Georgia Department of Corrections via AP)
photo This undated photo provided by The Georgia Department of Corrections shows Marion Wilson Jr. Wilson, convicted of killing an off-duty prison guard in Georgia more than two decades ago, is scheduled for execution later this month. State Attorney General Chris Carr announced in a news release Wednesday, June 5, 2019, that Wilson is scheduled to die on June 20 at the state prison in Jackson, Ga. Wilson and Robert Earl Butts Jr. were convicted of murder and sentenced to death in the March 1996 slaying of Donovan Corey Parks. (Georgia Department of Corrections via AP)

Georgia is preparing to execute a man convicted in the killing of an off-duty prison guard more than two decades ago.

Marion Wilson Jr. is scheduled to receive a lethal injection at 7 p.m. Thursday. Wilson and Robert Earl Butts Jr. were convicted of murder and sentenced to death in the March 1996 slaying of Donovan Corey Parks. Butts was executed in May 2018.

Authorities have said Butts and Wilson asked Parks for a ride outside a Walmart store in Milledgeville and then fatally shot him a short distance away. The pair then stole Parks' car.

The State Board of Pardons and Paroles announced Thursday it denied clemency for Wilson. The board is the only authority in Georgia that can commute a death sentence.

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