Man executed for 1996 killing after Supreme Court clears way

By JAY REEVES
Associated Press

ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — Alabama has executed an inmate for a 1996 murder after a divided U.S. Supreme Court sided with the state, clearing the way for the man to receive a lethal injection. The nation’s highest court rejected claims by 43-year-old inmate Matthew Reeves that he had an intellectual disability which cost him a chance to choose a still-untried execution method called nitrogen hypoxia. The Supreme Court lifted a lower court order that had previously blocked execution plans. Reeves was convicted of killing a driver who gave him a ride in 1996. Evidence showed he celebrated the man’s killing at a party afterward with blood stains still on his hands.