ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — A 74-year-old killer became the oldest U.S. inmate put to death in decades Thursday after courts and the governor refused to stop his execution.

James Barney Hubbard died by injection at 6:36 p.m. at Holman Prison near Atmore.

Hubbard was executed for the 1977 murder of 62-year-old Lillian Montgomery of Tuscaloosa. She was shot in the head and robbed after befriending Hubbard, who had been released from prison after serving 19 years for a 1957 killing.

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Hubbard's attorneys had contended that because of his age and mental incompetence, his execution would be a form of cruel and unusual punishment.

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