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COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) - A Kentucky judge has denied two requests to halt the scheduled execution of an inmate convicted of murder and rape, saying the grounds for doing so were too flimsy to support a stay.

Kenton Circuit Judge Gregory Bartlett on Wednesday ruled that there's "overwhelming evidence" of Gregory L. Wilson's guilt, making any DNA test of two-decade-old evidence useless to prove his innocence.

Bartlett also found too little evidence to support a claim that the 53-year-old Wilson is mentally retarded and ineligible for execution.

Wilson is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Sept. 16. He was convicted in 1988 of raping and murdering popular restaurant employee Deborah Pooley. A co-defendant in the case, Brenda Humphrey, is serving a life sentence.

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