Delaware Executes Convicted Killer

SMYRNA, Del. (AP) â€” A man who shot his estranged wife and her boyfriend in the head while she pleaded with a 911 operator for help was executed by injection. <br><br>Dwayne Weeks, 37, was pronounced

Friday, November 17th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SMYRNA, Del. (AP) â€” A man who shot his estranged wife and her boyfriend in the head while she pleaded with a 911 operator for help was executed by injection.

Dwayne Weeks, 37, was pronounced dead early Friday, hours after the Supreme Court lifted a stay of execution issued by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia.

Strapped to the gurney just before his execution, Weeks said, ``Over eight years ago, I asked the Lord to come into my life and make me a new creation in here. I say to all who hear my voice: I hope and pray that you, too, ask the Lord to come into your heart.''

On April 10, 1992, Weeks and Arthur Govan, of Chester, Pa., broke into the Wilmington apartment of Weeks' estranged wife. Gwendolyn Weeks was on the phone with a 911 operator when she died instantly from two bullets fired into her head by her husband.

Her boyfriend and co-worker, Craig Williams, was shot three times in the head, twice by Govan and once by Weeks. Prosecutors said the final shot was fatal.

Weeks was picked up by police within an hour of the shootings. Govan surrendered and told police that Weeks was angry with his wife, and had offered Govan money to kill her.

Govan, who worked at Weeks' family's construction firm, is serving a life sentence without parole in the Delaware Correctional Center, where Weeks was executed.

Prosecutors described the Weeks marriage as troubled, with Dwayne Weeks beating his wife, taking drugs and running afoul of the law.

Weeks pleaded guilty at his trial over the objection of his then-lawyer.

Rena Mack, whose sister was killed by Weeks, witnessed the execution. ``This has been a long eight years for my family, a lot of uneccessary pain. But tonight brings a certain sense of closure,'' she said.

He was the 11th inmate put to death in Delaware since 1992.