A wife murderer who was executed today asked prison authorities to give his last meal to a homeless person.

Donnie Johnson, who killed his wife by pushing a plastic bag down her throat, told officials in Tennessee, US, that he wanted his $20 [£15] food allotment to be spent on feeding the homeless.

The death row inmate's lawyer, Kelley Henry, told WSMV News his client was following the lead of Philip Workman, who unsuccessfully asked for his last meal to be sent to a homeless shelter.

Johnson was put to death by lethal injection at 7:37p.m. CDT [12.37am GMT] at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tennessee, the state's Department of Correction said in a statement.

He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to die in November 1985 for killing his wife, Connie, on December 8, 1984, after she went to see him at a Memphis camping supply store where he worked.

Johnson's co-worker Ronnie McCoy, an inmate on work release, testified that he left the couple alone in an office for about 15 minutes

When he returned, he found Connie suffocated, according to his court testimony.

McCoy testified that he and Johnson then put her body in her vehicle and drove it to a nearby shopping center where they left it.

Authorities said Johnson asked a store manager the next morning to help him find his wife, who he said had gone missing.

During their search, they found her dead in her van with a large garbage bag in her mouth, according to court documents.

During the investigation, Johnson told police that he had given his wife about $450 [£351] that day for Christmas shopping and that McCoy had tried to rob his wife and killed her in the process, according to the court documents.

Johnson did not testify during his trial. During his sentencing hearing, he took the stand where he denied killing his wife, placing blame on McCoy, the court documents said.

McCoy was not charged in the case. It is unclear if he was granted immunity for his testimony.

Johnson filed several unsuccessful appeals including a challenge to the state's lethal injection protocol with other inmates, arguing it caused "excruciating pain."

His request for clemency was denied by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Wednesday, reports Metro .

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