Convicted murderer executed

Missouri executed a convicted killer Wednesday night. It was the state’s first execution of the year.

66-year-old Earl Forrest died from lethal injection after 7:00 p.m.

Forrest was convicted in the 2002 killing of Harriett Smith and Michael Wells in a drug dispute and Dent County Sheriff’s Deputy Joann Barnes in a subsequent shootout at Forrest’s home.

” Earl Forrest callously murdered three people, including a deputy sheriff, over a box of methamphetamine,” Attorney General Chris Koster said, following Forrest’s execution. “Missouri’s law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day. They need to know that we will fight just as hard for justice for them and their families.”

The family of Deputy Barnes also released a statement thanking everyone involved with the justice process. They said, “JoAnn’s death created a void in our family and community that can never be filled…We know this execution will not bring JoAnn back, but it destroyed an evil person that otherwise would be still walking this earth.”