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Vernon Brown executed after 2.5 hour stay

St. Louis Public Radio
Published May 18, 2005 at 9:40 a.m. CDT
Vernon Brown was executed early Wednesday morning (UPI photo)
Vernon Brown was executed early Wednesday morning (UPI photo)

By AP/KWMU

Bonne Terre, MO – The state of Missouri executed inmate Vernon Brown at about 2:30 Wednesday morning.

Brown was convicted of killing a 19-year old woman, Synetta Ford, and a 9-year old girl in the mid-1980s. His death sentence came down for the second murder, of 9-year old Janet Perkins.

His execution was delayed for a few hours while the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed the case. Justices eventually voted 5-4 to allow it to continue.

Vernon Brown died by lethal injection at 2:35 a-m, according to a Department of Corrections spokesman. He died in the prison in Bonne Terre, Mo.

Brown was the 23rd man put to death in the United States this year.

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