A Florida man convicted of the brutal murders of an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother was executed by fatal injection on Thursday after the Supreme Court refused his appeal.
Edward James, 63, was declared dead at 8:15 pm in a prison in Florida, near the city of Starke. Before he was executed, he said he did not want to issue a definitive explanation according to the Associated Press.
A jury voted 11-1 to order James to death after he had argued for September 19, 1993, murders on Toni Neuner, 8, and her grandmother, the 58-year-old Betty Dick.
James’ last appeal to his execution was refused by the American Supreme Court Earlier on Thursday, so that his death penalty could move forward.
Florida man convicted of rape, killing the 8-year-old, murder her grandmother asks Scotus to block Execution
Edward James, 63, was executed by the state of Florida on Thursday for the murders in 1993 of 8-year-old Toni Neuner and her grandmother, the 58-year-old Betty Dick. (Florida Department of Corrections)
When the attack took place, James had rented a room in Dick’s house, which was about 10 miles north of Orlando. Neuner and three other children were at home in the night of the deadly attack, although the other three children were not damaged.
Before returning to his room at the house, the court data showed that James drank up to 24 beers and some drinks and took LSD.
Neuner was raped and strangled, while Dick was stabbed 21 times. After they killed them, James stole the jewelry of the woman and her car and then drove through the country to Bakersfield, California, where he was arrested on October 6, 1993.
James gave both crimes during a confession with the police recorded on video.
Convicted murderer becomes Louisiana’s first execution of nitrogen gas after the appeal is refused
Various professions claiming that James had cognitive issues that should protect him against the execution were submitted to national and federal courts, but they were all refused.
Earlier this month, the Florida Supreme Court Awried an argument of James’ lawyers that his old drug and alcohol consumption combined with head injuries and a heart attack in 2023 led to a “mental decline” that would make execution cruel and unusual punishment.
Edward James died due to fatal injection after the Florida authorities had managed the State three-drug cocktail. (Ben Gray/Atlanta Journal Constitution via AP)
In the refusal, the judges had agreed with the decision of a lower court that stated that cognitive issues did not protect James against his death penalty. The lawyers of James also tried to claim that the heart attack he experienced in prison led to oxygen deficiency that influenced his brain, which should have been a reason to stop the implementation plans, but the court denied that too.
In Florida, in the death cell prisoners who opt for fatal injections receive a cocktail with three medicines consisting of a calming agent, a paralyzed and a heartbreaking medicine, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Click here to get the Fox News app
The performance of James was the second to take place in the Sunshine State this year, as James Ford was executed in February for The murders of 1997 From a Charlotte County set for their toddler daughter, who survived.
James Ford was executed in February for murders in 1997 by Greg and Kimberly Malnory in Charlotte County, Florida. (Florida Department of Corrections)
The next execution of Florida will take place on April 8 when Michael Tanzi will be put to death for the murder of a woman in 2000 in the Florida Keys.
The Associated Press has contributed to this report.
