USA –  South Carolina is set to execute a man on death row on Friday, days after the key witness for the prosecution came forward to say he lied at trial and the state was putting to death an innocent man.

Khalil Divine Black Sun Allah, 46, is due to be killed by lethal injection at 6pm. His lawyers filed emergency motions for a delay this week, citing new testimony suggesting he was wrongfully convicted. But the state supreme court ruled Thursday that the execution should proceed. The last hope for Allah, who was previously known as Freddie Owens, is a grant of clemency from the state’s Republican governor, who has said he would announce a decision just before the execution is set to start.

Allah’s execution would be the first in 13 years in South Carolina and could be the start of a rapid series of executions in the coming months. Allah is due to be executed in front of three media witnesses at the Broad River correctional institution in Columbia, a spokesperson for the prison said. The state gave Allah a choice of lethal injection, electrocution or firing squad, but Allah objected to signing off on a method, saying that amounted to suicide and violated his Muslim faith. His attorney chose lethal injection for him.

Allah was convicted of the armed robbery and murder of convenience store cashier Irene Graves in November 1997. He was 19 at the time. Graves, a 41-year-old mother of three, was shot in the head during the robbery. Allah has long asserted his innocence. Prosecutors had no forensic evidence connecting Allah to the shooting. Surveillance footage at the store showed two masked men with guns, but they were not identifiable.

The state’s case rested on testimony from Allah’s friend and co-defendant, Steven Golden, who was also charged in the robbery and murder. As their joint trial was beginning, Golden pleaded guilty to murder, armed robbery and criminal conspiracy and agreed to testify against Allah. Golden, who was 18 at the time of the robbery, said Allah shot Graves. (The Guardian)…[+]