Blaine Milam, 35, was condemned for the December 2008 murder of Amora Carson at his trailer in Rusk County in East Texas. Milam was scheduled to receive a lethal injection Thursday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. At around the same time, authorities in Alabama were planning to execute Geoffrey West for fatally shooting a gas station employee during a 1997 robbery. Milam has claimed he is innocent, blaming then-girlfriend Jesseca Carson for the killing and alleging she was the one who claimed the girl was possessed by a demon. She was tried separately from Milam and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of capital murder for helping Milam. Both were 18 at the time. Prosecutors said Milam savagely beat the girl with a hammer and also bit, strangled, and mutilated her over a period of 30 hours.

A forensic pathologist who performed an autopsy found the child had multiple skull fractures along with broken arms, legs, ribs and numerous bite marks. The pathologist testified at trial that he could not determine a specific cause of death because the girl had so many potentially fatal injuries. Less than six hours before the scheduled 6 p.m. CDT execution, the US Supreme Court issued an order that rejected all of Milam’s appeals to block the execution from proceeding. (Jamaica Gleaner)