A death row inmate who fatally shot his ex-girlfriend and her friend in front of his former partner's five-year-old son is set to be executed.

Barring a last minute stay, convicted double murderer Scotty Morrow will die by lethal injection tonight after the state of Georgia denied a last-minute plea for clemency.

Armed with a handgun, Morrow, 52, shot his ex-girlfriend Barbara Ann Young and her friend Tonya Woods in the face just days after Christmas.

Ms Young had told him she wouldn't take him back, and the brutal double killing on December 29, 1994, was witnessed by her five-year-old son at her home in Gainesville, Georgia.

A third woman survived after being shot in the face and arm.

The execution is set to be carried out at a state prison near Jackson at 7pm local time on Thursday.

If the execution goes ahead, Morrow, who has two sons and four grandchildren, will be the first prisoner to be executed in Georgia this year, and the fifth in the US.

His legal team lost a bid for clemency and, in a bid to block the execution, has filed a court petition arguing the judge erred and Morrow's death sentence is unconstitutional.

In the petition, he takes full responsibility for the murders, attributing them to “his love for Ms Young and her family, and his inability to rescue their relationship", local media reported.

Morrow's supporters include death penalty opponent Sister Helen Prejean, who inspired the film Dead Man Walking and was portrayed by actress Susan Sarandon.

Sister Prejean tweeted: "This is yet another case where the jury did not have the whole story before recommending a death sentence. "

She added: "The jury at Scotty's trial didn't know much about his horrifying history of childhood abuse and trauma.

"After learning the truth, a majority of the jurors are now comfortable with a life sentence instead of an execution."

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency on Wednesday after hearing about Morrow's childhood, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The board heard arguments during a closed-door hearing, and did not give a reason for its decision.

Morrow's supporters had argued he was genuinely remorseful.

His attorneys had asked the board to consider events in Morrow's life before the double murder.

They said he witnessed his dad stomping on his pregnant mum's stomach, causing a miscarriage, when he was just three-years-old, and he was raped by two family members after he turned seven.

Morrow's legal team argued similar killings have rarely resulted in the death penalty, and his sentence should be commuted to life in prison.

Evidence about Morrow's childhood was not heard by the jury that sentenced him to death in June 1999, the Journal-Constitution reported.

A state court judge overturned the death sentence in 2011, but it was reinstated by Georgia's Supreme Court.

For his final meal on death row, Morrow has ordered a hamburger with mayonnaise, two orders of chicken and waffles, a pint of butter pecan ice cream, a bag of buttered popcorn, two all-beef franks and a large lemonade.

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