ATLANTA -- A man who had been on Georgia's death row for 33 years has been executed for killing his wife in 1974.

Jack Alderman was pronounced dead at 7:25 p.m. at the state prison in Jackson.

Alderman, 57, kept his eyes closed through the lethal injection process and declined to make a final statement. Alderman accepted a prayer from a priest in the death chamber.

Alderman muttered a reply that could not be heard by witnesses. He had refused a sedative and prison officials said he barely touched his last meal. He recorded a statement in which he thanked family for remaining supportive.

Alderman was calm throughout the 14-minute procedure.

Outside the prison, about 20 death penalty opponents gathered quietly with signs.

Alderman was sentenced to die for killing his wife, Barbara. He and an accomplice beat her with a crescent wrench and choked her at their home near Savannah before dumping her body in a creek. Prosecutors alleged he wanted to collect $20,000 in life insurance money.