The governor of the US state of Virginia turned down a plea for clemency from Washington sniper John Allen Muhammad on Tuesday, hours before his execution.
"Having carefully reviewed the petition for clemency and judicial opinions regarding this case, I find no compelling reason to set aside the sentence that was recommended by the jury and then imposed and affirmed by the courts.
"Accordingly, I decline to intervene," Governor Tim Kaine said in a statement, effectively ending any hopes 48-year-old Muhammad might have had of escaping execution.
His decision followed an overnight ruling from the US Supreme Court refusing Muhammad a stay of execution on the grounds that it needed more time to determine if his sentence was constitutional.
During a three-week reign of terror in 2002, Muhammad, a skilled marksman, picked off victims in the Washington region with a sniper rifle, leaving 10 people dead.
He will be put to death by lethal injection at 9:00 pm Tuesday (0200 GMT Wednesday) in Virginia.
