Ala. death row inmate executed in '76 rape, murder

ATMORE, Ala. (AP) -- Alabama's longest serving death row inmate has been executed by lethal injection for the 1976 kidnapping, rape and murder of a young convenience store clerk.

Thomas Whisenhant died Thursday at 6:20 p.m. at Holman prison near Atmore.

The 63-year-old inmate filed no stay requests as the 6 p.m. execution drew near Thursday.

Court records show Whisenhant, then 29, confessed to killing Sheryl Lynn Payton and two other convenience store clerks in a similar fashion. The crimes terrorized the Mobile area.

He had avoided execution for more than three decades because of prosecutorial error and successful appeals.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)