The Latest: Georgia executes man convicted in triple killing

JACKSON, Ga. (AP) - The Latest on the scheduled execution of a Georgia death row inmate (all times local):

10:00 p.m.

Georgia has executed a man convicted in the April 1998 killings of a trucking company owner and his two children during a home burglary.

Daniel Anthony Lucas was declared dead at 9:54 p.m. Wednesday at the state prison in Jackson following a lethal injection. He was convicted of killing 37-year-old Steven Moss, his 15-year-old daughter Kristin and his 11-year-old son Bryan, who interrupted the burglary at their home near Macon. Lucas apologized to the family of the victims.

Another man convicted in the killings, Brandon Joseph Rhode, was executed in 2010.

Court filings show Lucas and Rhode broke into the home seeking valuables to get money for drugs. Bryan Moss saw them and entered with a baseball bat and was shot by Lucas, filings show.

Prosecutors said Rhode shot the girl, then her father, when each arrived home.

____

9:05 p.m.

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a request to halt Wednesday evening's planned execution of a Georgia inmate condemned for a triple killing in 1998.

Attorneys for 37-year-old Daniel Anthony Lucas had urged the nation's highest court to stop the death sentence from being carried out, hours after the Georgia Supreme Court reject a similar request.

In Washington, the court issued a brief statement without explanation that the request for a stay of execution had been denied. The court's response came about two hours after the originally scheduled 7 p.m. execution time had passed.

Earlier Wednesday, Georgia's highest court also declined to stop the planned execution at the state prison in Jackson.

Lucas was sentenced to death for the April 1998 killings of 37-year-old Steven Moss, his 11-year-old son Bryan and 15-year-old daughter Kristin, who interrupted a burglary at the family's home near Macon.

___

7:35 p.m.

Lawyers for a Georgia inmate scheduled to be put death Wednesday evening for a triple murder have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the planned execution.

Attorneys for 37-year-old Daniel Anthony Lucas said in a filing to the nation's highest court that it wanted the justices to review a Georgia Supreme Court decision denying relief to the inmate. The scheduled execution time of 7 p.m. Wednesday passed without any immediate response from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Earlier Wednesday, Georgia's highest court declined to stop the planned execution at the state prison in Jackson.

Lucas was sentenced to death for the April 1998 killings of 37-year-old Steven Moss, his 11-year-old son Bryan and 15-year-old daughter Kristin, who interrupted a burglary at the family's home near Macon.

___

5:20 p.m.

Georgia's highest court has declined to stop the execution scheduled Wednesday for a Georgia inmate convicted for a triple murder.

Thirty-seven-year-old Daniel Anthony Lucas is to receive an injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital at 7 p.m. at the state prison in Jackson.

Lucas was sentenced to death for the April 1998 killings of 37-year-old Steven Moss, his 11-year-old son Bryan and 15-year-old daughter Kristin, who interrupted a burglary at the family's home near Macon.

Lucas was 19 at the time. His lawyers argued the death penalty was inappropriate because of his youth and lack of maturity. The state countered that those arguments are procedurally barred and that there's no law against executing someone who was 18 or older when a crime was committed.

A judge rejected the challenge and the Georgia Supreme Court also declined to stop the execution.

___

4:05 p.m.

Lawyers for a Georgia inmate facing execution Wednesday for a triple murder are asking the state's highest court to stop the sentence from being carried out.

Thirty-seven-year-old Daniel Anthony Lucas is to receive an injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the state prison in Jackson.

Lucas was sentenced to death for the April 1998 killings of 37-year-old Steven Moss, his 11-year-old son Bryan and 15-year-old daughter Kristin, who interrupted a burglary at the family's home near Macon.

Lucas was 19 at the time. His lawyers argue the death penalty was inappropriate because of his youth and lack of maturity. The state counters that those arguments are procedurally barred and that there's no law against executing someone who was 18 or older when a crime was committed.

A judge rejected the challenge and Lucas' lawyers then appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court.

___

4 a.m.

Georgia is preparing to execute a man convicted in the 1998 killings of a central Georgia trucking company owner and his two children.

Thirty-seven-year-old Daniel Anthony Lucas is scheduled to die by injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the state prison in Jackson.

Lucas was sentenced to death for the April 1998 killings of 37-year-old Steven Moss, his 11-year-old son Bryan and 15-year-old daughter Kristin, who interrupted a burglary at their home near Macon in central Georgia.

A second man convicted in the killings, Brandon Rhode, was executed in September 2010.

Lucas would be the fifth inmate executed in Georgia this year.