WASHINGTON, Nov 2 (AFP) - A man was executed by lethal injection Tuesday in the state of Texas for a murder committed 14 years ago, as voters across the United States cast ballots for president, according to a group opposed to the death penalty.
Lorenzo Morris, 52, was executed in the state prison at Huntsville for the 1990 murder of a 70-year-old man, according to the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.
He was the 54th person executed in the United States this year.
A prison spokeswoman, Michelle Lyons, said Morris was not able to vote before being executed, because state law forbids jailed felons from voting.
The death penalty was not a major issue in this year's presidential campaign.
Bush, a Republican former Texas governor, supports it, while his Democratic opponent, Senator John Kerry, opposes it except in cases of terrorism.
Kerry is one of five US lawmakers who proposed in 2001 a moratorium on executions in the United States.
Since capital punishment was re-instated in the United States in 1976, 939 prisoners have been executed. About 3,500 more are currently on death row in the United States.
11/03/2004 02:47 GMT - AFP