An inmate was executed by injection for killing a couple who had tried to help him get his life back in order after he was paroled.

Ernest Orville Baldree, 55, died minutes after the lethal dose of drugs began flowing into his veins Tuesday.The U.S. Supreme Court refused to review his case last week, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected a challenge.

Baldree was convicted of shooting Homer Howard in the head Aug. 20, 1986, while helping him build a fence outside his trailer home near Coolidge, northeast of Waco. Baldree then walked into the home and fatally shot Howard's wife, Nancy.

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