JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri's execution of a white supremacist who claimed responsibility for killings across the country could increase the state's use of the death penalty.
The state previously was among the country's most active death penalty practitioners, but Missouri executions have slowed amid legal wrangling over the execution protocol.
Wednesday's execution of Joseph Franklin was the first in nearly three years and the third since 2009.
Missouri has executed 69 people since the death penalty was reinstated, which is fifth most among all states, according to figures from the Death Penalty Information Center. The state's next scheduled execution is that of Allen Nicklasson on Dec. 11.