Arkansas executes 4th convicted killer in 8 days

Arkansas has executed its fourth inmate in eight days, wrapping up an accelerated schedule of lethal injections that was set to beat the expiration date of one of the drugs. Kenneth Williams, 38, was pronounced dead at 11:05 pm, 13 minutes after the execution began at the Cummins Unit prison at Varner.

An Associated Press reporter who witnessed on Thursday's execution said Williams lurched and convulsed 20 times during the lethal injection. A prison spokesman said he shook for approximately 10 seconds, about three minutes into the procedure.

Arkansas had scheduled eight executions over an 11-day period before one of its lethal injection drugs expires on Sunday.

That would have been the most in such a compressed period since the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, but courts issued stays for four of the inmates.

The four lethal injections that were carried out included Monday's first double execution in the United States since 2000.