Indiana man executed for 1984 killing

updated 6:55 a.m. ET May 4, 2007

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. - A man convicted of killing a 77-year-old man during a 1984 burglary was executed by lethal injection early Friday.

David Leon Woods, 42, was pronounced dead at 12:35 a.m. Central Daylight Time, officials at the Indiana State Prison said.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected requests that Woods’ execution be stayed Thursday, as did the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels also denied clemency for Woods on Thursday. The state Parole Board had earlier unanimously recommended against granting clemency.

Woods’ attorneys had tried to stop the execution on the grounds that Indiana’s lethal injection protocol constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. He also disputed the state court’s method of determining whether he was mentally retarded, which could have rendered him ineligible for the death penalty.

Woods was convicted of breaking into Juan Placencia’s house in 1984 and stabbing him to death.

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