A prisoner who briefly swapped places with his identical twin brother while serving his sentence has been executed.
Carey Dean Moore became the first person to be executed in the state of Nebraska since 1997 and the first person in the whole United States to be executed using a cocktail of drugs that included the synthetic opioid Fentanyl.
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Moore was serving his sentence for the murder of two taxi drivers in Omaha in 1979. He had previously had his execution ordered, but proceedings were subsequently halted on seven occasions.
After one such incident, when he had practiced the walk to the electric chair, eaten his last meal, and organised his cremation and funeral, he said: "I felt like a flat tyre.
"Air came out of my mouth. I was so disappointed.
"I could taste my execution and my death. I am very much tired of all of this prison life, being on death row. I really wanted it to end."
According to reports, before he died, he turned his head and mouthed the words 'I love you' to his family, including his twin brother, who had tried to change places with him some years ago in an attempt to give him a taste of freedom.
In 1984, the pair were meeting in private in prison (where David was also incarcerated for robbery) when they swapped clothes and traded places. Their stunt lasted only 20 minutes before a cook realised that one brother looked as if he had gained a lot of weight.
David Moore had previously spoken of how his brother had changed his ways since the murders that he committed all those years ago.
He said that Dean (as his brother knows him) 'isn't like what he was now'.
During the execution, the families of the men that Moore murdered, Maynard Helgeland and Reuel Van Ness, were not present. Steve Helgeland, the son of Maynard, spoke ahead of the execution. He said: "We're sick of hearing about Carey Dean Moore.
"There was a point in my life when I probably would have pulled the switch myself, but 39 years has a way of dissipating your anger,"
In an earlier Facebook post, he had written: "With the impending execution of the murderer of Maynard Helgeland and Reuel Van Ness a few thoughts cross my mind.
"While his execution and death are not a pleasant thing and I am positive his family will experience pain over his loss they have had 40 years to prepare themselves for this, 40 years to bond, 40 years to share, 40 years is a long time.
"The murderer only allowed me 13 years total with my father. I would trade 20 years of my life to get 40 years with my father."
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