Georgia executes man for 1975 murder of topless dancer

<p>When his appeals ran out after 28 years, James Willie Brown was quietly executed for killing a topless dancer he raped and suffocated with her own underwear.</p><p>Brown, 55, didnt protest or comment before his lethal injection Tuesday night.</p><p>When asked whether he wanted to make a final statement or prayer, Brown merely shook his head and said no.</p><p>Then, as a combination of deadly chemicals pumped through his body, Brown twitched slightly and moved his head back and forth. He then took a few deep final breaths, his cheeks puffing from the effort, then was still. Browns physical reactions were similar to others who have been executed by injection.</p><p>Brown was pronounced dead at 8:32 p.m. after decades of appeals and retrials were turned away by the courts. He was sentenced to death in two separate jury trials, and he was originally set to be executed a year ago until a judge delayed it hours before it was to take place.</p><p>Browns guilt was not in doubt, but his lawyers argued he was insane and should have been resentenced to life in prison without parole. Final appeals Tuesday to the U.S. Supreme Court and 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta were rejected.</p><p>He died alone except for government and media witnesses _ none of his attorneys showed up.</p><p>A group of eight protesters held a candlelight vigil at the prison entrance Tuesday night.</p><p>I think Brown is mentally ill, and I think its unjust to execute someone whos mentally ill, said protester Jennifer Norton of Smyrna.</p><p>Brown ate all of his last meal, a foot-long chili dog with everything, French fries, a dill pickle, strawberry ice cream and a 7-Up drink.</p><p>Brown raped Brenda Sue Watson, 21, in 1975 while she suffocated on her underwear. They had been forced so far down her throat that they werent found until the autopsy.</p><p>Brown and Watson ate a takeout dinner of steak and potatoes at the Mark Inn Lounge in Gwinnett County on May 12, 1975. They danced and drank for a few hours, and then they left together shortly before midnight.</p><p>Watsons body was found the next day in the woods. She had been tied up with nylon cord and was mostly naked.</p><p>Brown was the 33rd man executed in Georgia since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1973. He was the 11th inmate to be executed by injection.</p>

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