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		Herman Dale Ashworth, 32, was executed by injection on Sept. 27 after eight years on death row.
		Ohio Dept. of Corrections via AP

Herman Dale Ashworth, 32, was pronounced dead at 10:19 a.m. after a lethal injection at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility.

Ashworth pleaded guilty in 1997 to the slaying of 40-year-old Daniel Baker, who was beaten so badly a deputy coroner said his injuries were consistent with a high-speed traffic accident or plane crash.

Ashworth and Baker, who had never met before, had a few drinks and were walking to a bar when Ashworth called Baker over to an alley. He beat Baker with his fists and a 6-foot board and kicked him, according to court documents and Ashworth's interview with police.

"A life for a life, let it be done and justice will be served," Ashworth said in a final statement.

The husband of Baker's niece, Samuel Overly, sat motionless with his arms crossed over his chest during the execution.

After beating Baker, Ashworth took about $40 from him and went back to a bar in Newark, about 30 miles east of Columbus. Ashworth told police that Baker, a divorced father of a then-12-year-old girl, came onto him and he freaked out.

Ashworth's girlfriend at the time, Tanna Brett, testified that Ashworth told her about the beating and said he had to go back to the alley to kill him to prevent Baker from identifying him.

Brett said she thought she persuaded Ashworth to leave Baker alone. However, when she went looking for him later she heard a metal sound coming from the alley and found Baker in a different position near a metal loading dock door.

Ohio has now put 17 men to death since it resumed executions in 1999.

Ashworth's adoptive parents, James Ashworth and Anna Mae Dalton, were unable to visit with their son before the execution because Hurricane Rita kept them from reaching their flight in Baton Rouge, his attorney said Monday.