STARK, Fla. (AP) – A Florida man who killed an 8-year-old girl and grandmother on the night he drank heavy and used drugs was executed Thursday evening.
Jail officials said 63-year-old Edward James was declared dead at 8:15pm after receiving a triple injection at a Florida prison near Stark. He accrued the death penalty on September 19, 1993 after pleading guilty to 8-year-old Toni Neuner and her grandmother, Betty Dick, 58.
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Three other executions took place in the United States this week. This includes the fatal injection of an Oklahoma man for a fatal shooting of a woman during a home invasion. Arizona executed the man with an injection on Wednesday, while Louisiana first used nitrogen gas on Tuesday, killing the man as the condition ended his 15-year hiatus in execution.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected James’ final appeal earlier in the day, clearing the state’s second execution. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a warrant for James’ death earlier this year, and another warrant for execution in early April.
James had rented a room at Dick’s house in Casselberry about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Orlando. There, Toni Neuner and three other children were staying on the night of the attack.
According to court records, James drank up to 24 beers at the party, beat gin, and took another LSD before returning to Dick’s room. The girl was raped and strangled. The other children were not harmed.
James, who pleaded guilty to the charges, was found guilty of stealing Dick’s jewelry and car after raping a girl and stabbing her 21 times. According to court documents, James drives cars all over the country and occasionally sells gems until he was arrested on October 6th of that year in Bakersfield, California.
Police have obtained a video-recorded confession from James.
James’ attorneys had filed several appeals in state and federal courts, all of which were denied. More recently, the Florida Supreme Court rejected the argument that in 2023 his long-standing drug and alcohol, several head injuries and heart attack use led to a mental decline that executed him cruel and unusual punishment.
Instead, the judiciary agreed to a lower court’s decision that “James’ cognitive issues will not protect him from execution.” The court also rejected the argument from James’ lawyer that the heart attack he suffered in prison had affected his brain, leading to oxygen deprivation that it should be seen as new evidence to halt plans to execute him.
The nonprofit death penalty information center said Florida is using three-drug cocktails for deadly injections: sedatives, paralytics, and heart-stopping drugs.
Earlier this year, James Ford was executed for the 1997 murder of a couple in Charlotte County.
Florida officials said they are next preparing for Michael Tange’s April 8 execution for the 2000 murder of a woman in Florida Keys.
