Virginia executes convicted murderer who claimed to be mentally impaired

Virginia executed Alfredo Prieto, its first lethal injection in 3 years — (Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Virginia executed Alfredo Prieto, a 49-year-old convicted of murdering three people and suspected in several more deaths, on Thursday night after a string of last-minute appeals fell through. Prieto's lawyers had questioned the safety of one of the three lethal-injection drugs, pentobarbital, which Virginia had acquired from the Texas prisons system. And Prieto's legal team had requested a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the El Salvador native was intellectually impaired, citing a Supreme Court precedent from Florida. Both appeals were declined. Prieto was convicted of murdering a 22-year-old couple outside Washington, D.C., two decades ago and for raping and murdering a 15-year-old girl in California.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.