VALDOSTA (GNN) – A man convicted of the fatal shooting of a Cobb County store manager in in 1979 was executed early Wednesday morning.

Brian Astor Jones, 72, was pronounced dead at 12:46 a.m. in Jackson.Because of last minute appeals, his execution was delayed a few hours.

Jones was the oldest inmate on Georgia’s death row. He was convicted of murdering a convenience store manager in Cobb County 37 years ago.

The state says 60 men and one woman have been executed in Georgia since 1973. The next execution is scheduled for two weeks from today.