Chris Parks wipes away a tear while talking about the murder of his brother. Marion Wilson Jr. and Robert Earl Butts Jr. were convicted of murder and sentenced to death in the 1996 killing of 24-year-old Donovan Corey Parks.

Chris Parks wipes away a tear while talking about the murder of his brother. Marion Wilson Jr. and Robert Earl Butts Jr. were convicted of murder and sentenced to death in the 1996 killing of 24-year-old Donovan Corey Parks. / AP

An inmate executed by the state of Georgia for a slaying decades ago said in his last moments that he never killed anyone.

From the execution chamber, 42-year-old inmate Marion Wilson Jr. told witnesses gathered for his lethal injection that "I ain't never took a life in my life." He also told family, friends and supporters "I love y'all forever" before a powerful sedative began flowing.

Wilson took about 10 deep breaths, paused and then took a few more breaths before falling still. Authorities say the inmate was pronounced dead at 9:52 p.m. Thursday.

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Wilson and Robert Earl Butts Jr. were convicted of murder and sentenced to death in the March 1996 slaying of 24-year-old Donovan Corey Parks. Prosecutors said Parks was killed after agreeing to give the two men a ride after a chance encounter outside a Walmart store in Milledgeville, rural Georgia.

Butts was executed last year at the age of 40.

Marion Wilson Jr., 42, was executed June 20 at the state prison in Jackson.

Marion Wilson Jr., 42, was executed June 20 at the state prison in Jackson.

Tags: Marion Wilson Jr.  Death Penalty  Georgia