USA - Oklahoma. Gary Roland Welch, 49, white, was put to death

Gary Roland Welch, 49, white, was put to death, marking the nation's 1st execution this year. Welch was given a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in McAlester for fatally stabbing  Robert Hardcastle, 35, white, on Aug. 25, 1994. Co-defendant Claudie Conover also was sentenced to death, but his sentence was later reduced to life without parole. He died in prison from natural causes in 2001. Welch becomes the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Oklahoma and the 97th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1990. Welch becomes the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death this year and the 1278th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.