Marcus Ray Johnson Execution: Georgia Man Put To Death After Losing Last-Minute Appeals

A Georgia man convicted of killing a woman was executed Thursday after losing last-minute appeals. Marcus Ray Johnson, 50, was convicted in the March 1994 rape and murder of Angela Sizemore, who he met a nightclub, in Albany.

Johnson was declared dead at 10: 11 p.m. local time at the state prison in Jackson, Georgia Department of Corrections officials said, according to the Associated Press (AP). Johnson reportedly declined to make a final statement or say his last prayers. Brian Kammer, an attorney for Johnson, had urged that his client was innocent and should not be executed as there were doubts about his guilt. However, prosecutors said there was no doubt Johnson killed Sizemore.

It "deepens the moral stain on the State of Georgia," Kammer said after Johnson’s execution, AP reported. "Georgia should be erring on the side of caution, not rushing its citizens pell mell to the execution chamber."

A constitutional challenge to Johnson's sentencing and conviction was rejected by a Butts County Superior Court judge Wednesday. The Georgia Supreme Court Thursday upheld the ruling and ordered for his execution. The U.S. Supreme Court reportedly rejected Johnson's appeals for a stay of execution Thursday evening.

“Of all the death penalty cases I had, what happened to the victim in this case was the most vile and reprehensible of any," Ken Hodges, who was Dougherty County district attorney during Johnson's trial reportedly said. "He was the most deserving of the death penalty."