USA - Oklahoma. Donald Ray Wackerly, 41, white, was executed

Donald Ray Wackerly, 41, white, was executed after a federal judge dismissed a request to allow his Buddhist spiritual adviser into the death chamber. Wackerly, 41, had been sentenced to die in 1998 for the september 1996 shooting death of Laotian Pan Sayakhoummane, 51, during a robbery. Attorneys reached an agreement Wednesday that cleared the way for the execution of Wackerly, who had wanted his Buddhist spiritual adviser present during the lethal injection. Wackerly's attorney, Micheal Salem, said under the agreement Wackerly would be permitted to recite a mantra of ultimate compassion until he dies, and his Buddhist spiritual adviser and others in an observation room also will be allowed to chant. Wackerly becomes the 2nd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Oklahoma and the 93rd overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1990. Wackerly becomes the 42nd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1230th overall since the nation resumed executions on Jan. 17, 1977.