STARK, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man who killed an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother on the night he drank a lot and used drugs is due to be executed Thursday.
Edward James, 63, is due to receive a fatal injection that begins at 6pm at the Florida prison outside of the Florida prison under a death warrant signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in February. Except for a last-minute recess, the execution is the second in Florida this year, with a third planned for April.
Three other executions were scheduled for this week around the US. Louisiana used nitrogen gas to resume executions on Tuesday after a 15-year break, resulting in the death of a man. On Wednesday, Arizona fatally injected a man who invited his girlfriend’s ex-husband to kill him. Another lethal injection is planned in Oklahoma on Thursday.
James took the death penalty for the murder of 8-year-old Toni Neuner and her child’s grandmother, 58-year-old Betty Dick, on September 19, 1993. James had rented a room at Dick’s house in Casselberry. Toni Neuner and three other children were staying that night.
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 rape and stabbing Dick’s jewels and car 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 filed several appeals in state and federal courts, all of which were denied. More recently, the Florida Supreme Court rejected the argument that James’ long-standing use of drugs and alcohol, several head injuries and long-standing use of heart attacks led to a mental decline that made his execution a brutal and unusual punishment.
However, the judge agreed to the lower court’s ruling 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 and led to the deprivation of oxygen, which should be seen as new evidence to stop his execution.
Even if it was new evidence, the court held that “the defendant cannot establish that such evidence is likely to be subject to a less serious sentence at the new penalty stage.”
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. DeSantis also signed a death warrant for the April 8th execution of Michael Tange for the 2000 murder of a Florida Keys woman.
