one Floridian The fatal injection was fatal after the Supreme Court denied his appeal on the 1993 crime of brutal killing an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother.
Edward James, 63, was pronounced dead at 8:15 p.m. in a Florida prison near Stark. He said he did not want to make a final statement before he was executed, according to the Associated Press.
The jury sentenced James to death 11-1 after pleading guilty on September 19, 1993, murdering 8-year-old Toni Neuner and her grandmother Betty Dick, 58.
James’ final appeal for his execution was U.S. Supreme Court Earlier Thursday, that led his death sentence forward.
Florida man convicted of rape, murdered 8 years old, murdered her grandmother asks Scotus to stop implement
Edward James, 63, was executed in Florida on Thursday, murdering 8-year-old Toni Neuner and her grandmother, Betty Dick, 58, in 1993. (Florida Department of Corrections)
James had been renting a room in Dick’s house at the time of the attack, about 10 miles North of Orlando. Neuner and three other children were at home on the night of the fatal attack, although the other three were not hurt.
Before he returned to his room at home, court records showed that James drank up to 24 beer and some alcohol and took LSD.
Neuner was raped and strangled to death, while Dick was stabbed 21 times. After killing them, James stole the woman’s jewelry and her car and drove across the country to Bakersfield, California, where he was arrested on October 6, 1993.
James admitted both crimes in a video footage with the police.
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Several appeals argued that James’ cognitive problems should protect him from executions have been filed before state and federal courts, but all were denied.
Earlier this month, Florida Supreme Court Rejecting a debate by attorney James that his long-term drug and alcohol use combined with head injuries and a 2023 heart attack resulted in a “spiritual decline” that would make the execution cruel and unusual punishment.
Edward James died after Florida authorities managed three cocktails in the state. (Ben Gray/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
In denial, the Justice agreed to the lower court’s ruling that cognitive issues did not exempt James from the death penalty. James’ attorneys also tried to argue that the heart attack he encountered in prison caused oxygen deprivation and affected his brain, which should have been a reason to stop the execution of the plan, but the court also denied it.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, in Florida, death row inmates who chose a lethal injection were given three cocktails, consisting of sedatives, paralysis and heart-warming medications.
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James’ execution is the second execution held this year in Sunshine State, with James Ford being executed in February The murder case in 1997 Survived in front of the young daughter of a couple in Charlotte County.
James Ford was executed in February 1997 for the murder of Greg and Kimberly malaria in Charlotte County, Florida. (Florida Department of Corrections)
The next Florida office is decided to take place April 8, when Michael Tanzi will be executed for the murder of a woman in the Florida Key in 2000.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
