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Arizona death row inmate denied clemency; scheduled for execution June 8

Frank Atwood was convicted in 1987 for the 1984 killing of an 8-year-old girl in Tucson.

ARIZONA, USA — In two weeks, the man convicted of killing an 8-year-old Tucson girl in 1984 is set to be the latest Arizona death row inmate to be executed.

On Tuesday, lawyers for Frank Atwood pleaded with the state clemency board to spare his life. The board declined that request.

Atwood is scheduled to be executed on June 8. 

The family of Vicki Lynn Hoskinson said they're ready to put this 40-year nightmare behind them.

RELATED: Arizona prisoner won’t be executed in gas chamber

Earlier this month Clarence Dixon was the first Arizona inmate to be executed since 2014. In the eight years in between, the state dealt with the method of execution following the botched execution of Joseph Wood.

RELATED: Clarence Dixon, Arizona's first execution in 8 years, is dead

At the hearing Tuesday, Atwood's lawyers claimed there was no physical evidence tying him to the case. They also said investigators used his past crimes against him.

"... and that is why Frank Atwood is here... because of his previous criminal history," Amy Alexander with the Arizona Capital Project, one of the lawyers on the case. 

"This execution is wrong. It's wrong in that Mr. Atwood's conviction is wrong, and it's wrong because the process for execution in Arizona is fundamentally broken," she said.

During the hearing, Atwood continued to claim his innocence. 

"To the family... while you will never believe that I did not take her from you, I did not..." Atwood said. "My profound prayer is that my death will give you and yours some form of relief and closure."

Atwood's lawyers argued before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to try and stop the execution. 

A case is also pending before the Arizona Supreme Court over the methods of execution in the state.

"The Arizona Constitution guarantees Mr. Atwood a choice between two methods," Alexander said. "Arizona is forcing Mr. Atwood to choose between the gas chamber and or lethal injection. Asking him to choose between two forms of torture is no choice at all."

Rulings from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Arizona Supreme Court are expected in the coming days.

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