Texas will execute two men this week, and North Carolina another, in one of the busiest weeks for the death penalty this year.

On Wednesday, Richard Duncan, right, is put to death in Texas. Duncan, 61, will die as punishment for his murder in 1987 of John Abner High, 71, and Ruth Brown High, 73, the parents of his homosexual lover. According to Texas:

Mr. High was beaten on the head with a blunt instrument and his wife somethered. Duncan killed the couple in the hope of getting half their $500,000 estate from their son. After killing the couple, Duncan turned on a portable cooker in the house in an attempt to cause an explosion. The case remained unsolved until a witness came forward after seven years."

A day after Duncan is executed, Texas will execute Ivan Murphy Jr., left. Murphy, 38, was sentenced to die after he was convicted of killing 80-year old Lula Mae Denning in Denison, Texas, in 1989. According to the state:

Denning was beaten to death inside her home ...by Murphy and an accomplice. Jewelry, including a wedding ring vaolued at $7,000, was taken from the home. Murphy's prints were found in the home.

And on Friday, North Carolina will execute Robbie Lyons, 31, in connection with his 1993 first-degree murder conviction. A jury convicted him in the slaying of Stephen Stafford in 1993.

Lyons will be the seventh inmate executed in North Carolina this year, after Gov. Mike Easley lifted a moratorium on the death penalty.