CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Making no final statement and keeping his eyes trained on the ceiling, William “Junior” Downs was put to death by lethal injection Friday for the 1999 kidnapping, rape and murder of a 6-year-old South Carolina boy.

The 39-year-old Augusta, Ga., man said he stopped Keenan O’Mailia as the boy rode his bike on a dirt path. Downs said he asked his name, threw him to the ground and strangled him.

Downs did not pursue any appeals after pleading guilty to the crimes in 2002. Before he was sentenced to death, he said he deserved to die for his crime.