An Arizona prisoner convicted of killing another man by throwing gasoline at him and lighting a match has been put to the death in the first of three executions planned this week around the U.S. Corrections officials say 63-year-old Leroy McGill received a lethal injection Wednesday for the 2002 killing of Charles Perez.

And both rank in the middle among states for COVID-19 death rates — Florida was 27th as of Friday; California was 28th. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, imposed numerous statewide restrictions over the past year after an early surge in deaths, while South Dakota Gov. “Even in a pandemic, public health policy needs to take into account people’s economic and social well-being,” Noem said during a recent conservative convention. Like Florida, Missouri had no statewide mask mandate, ended business restrictions last June and has a cumulative COVID-19 death rate similar to California's. Public health experts said individual choices could help explain the similar outcomes among some states with loose or strict orders from the governor.