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Keith Nelson, man who killed Kansas girl in 1999, executed in Indiana

Keith Nelson, man who killed Kansas girl in 1999, executed in Indiana
Posted at 4:01 PM, Aug 28, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-28 17:01:57-04

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — A man who killed a Kansas girl more than two decades ago has been executed in Indiana.

Keith Nelson became the fifth federal inmate put to death this year and second this week.

Nelson received a lethal injection Friday at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, after a higher court tossed a ruling that would have required the government to get a prescription for the drug used to kill him.

Questions about whether the drug pentobarbital causes pain prior to death had been a focus of appeals.

Nelson grabbed 10-year-old Pamela Butler off the street on Oct. 12, 1999, as part of a plan to find a female to rape and kill.