Father-of-two, 66, is executed by lethal injection for beating his ex-wife to death

A father-of-two who was convicted of murdering his ex-wife and her new partner in 1997 was executed last night after spending 20 years on death row. 

Donnie Lance, 66, was given a lethal injection of pentobarbital at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson at 9.05pm last night, despite several last-minute appeals. 

His last meal request was two chili steak burgers, French fries, onion rings, mustard, ketchup and a soda. 

He was sentenced to death for killing ex-wife Sabrina ‘Joy’ Lance and Dwight ‘Butch’ Wood Jr in November 1997. 

Donnie Lance, 66, (left) was given a lethal injection of pentobarbital in Jackson, Georgia, at 9.05pm last night. He was sentenced to death for killing ex-wife Sabrina ‘Joy’ Lance (right, with Lance and their two children) and Dwight ‘Butch’ Wood Jr in Novermber 1997

But his execution was delayed for almost two hours while the US Supreme Court discussed the application for a stay of execution in relation to claims of alleged prosecutorial misconduct.  

It was denied, alongside a petition for a writ for a review and a request to have his sentence reduced to life in prison.  

His children, Stephanie Cape and Jessie Lance, also wrote a letter to the parole board begging them to let their father live.  

Mr Wood (pictured) had been shot twice with a shotgun and Ms Lance had been beaten to death

Lance’s victims were found at the Jackson home of Mr Wood on November 9, 1997. 

Mr Wood had been shot twice with a shotgun and Mrs Lance had been beaten to death.  

Associate Joe Moore helped Lance get rid of shotgun shells. Lance then allegedly told him, ‘Daddy could buy him out of a bunch of places, but he can’t buy him out of hell,’ according to the Mirror.                 

The bodies of Lance’s victims were found at Butch’s home in Jackson on November 9, 1997 – with the murders estimated to have taken place between midnight and 5am, a court summary details.

Lance was known to have a history of abusing his ex-wife, including kidnappings, beatings and strangulation. 

Associate Joe Moore helped Lance get rid of shotgun shells. Lance then allegedly told him, ‘Daddy could buy him out of a bunch of places, but he can’t buy him out of hell’

Lance was known to have a history of abusing his ex-wife, including kidnappings, beatings and strangulation

Lance denied his guilt in the case, and his lawyers say no proof showing he committed the crimes was presented at the trial

He also threatened to set her on fire and kill her with a gun and chainsaw. According to the Mirror several witnesses also testified that Lance threatened to kill his ex-wife if she ever tried to divorce him.   

Lance denied his guilt in the case, and his lawyers say no proof showing he committed the crimes was presented at the trial.

In trying to overturn his conviction over the last two decades, Lance’s defense team had unsuccessfully asked that DNA evidence be re-examined and that a new trial be held.

They hoped the US Supreme Court would grant a last-minute stay of execution in light of those requests, but the court denied the stay Wednesday just before the execution was scheduled.

Lance is the second person executed in the United States this year, after a man in Texas earlier this month. 

Lance became the 53rd offender put to death by lethal injection. There are currently 42 men and one woman under death sentence in Georgia.

There have been 74 men and one woman executed in Georgia since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.