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Loran Cole Execution Scheduled For Today

Loran Cole is set to be executed today, August 29 2024, by the State of Florida for the murder of a college student

According to court documents Loran Cole and William Paul would attack a pair of siblings at the Ocala National Forest in 1994.

The brother, John Edward, was tied to a tree and his throat would be slit. The sister would be brought to another location where she was sexually assaulted

Loran Cole would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. William Paul would plead guilty and was sentenced to life in prison

Loran Cole is scheduled to be executed after six pm Florida time by lethal injection

Loran Cole was executed by lethal injection on August 29 2024

Loran Cole Execution Scheduled

A Florida man convicted of killing a college freshman and raping the student’s sister while the siblings camped in a national forest 30 years ago is scheduled to be executed Thursday.

Unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes, Loran Cole is set to be put to death just after 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison for the 1994 killing. Cole is also serving two life sentences for rape.

According to court records, Cole and a friend, William Paul, befriended the two college students in the Ocala National Forest. After talking around a fire, the men offered to take the siblings to see a pond. While away from the campsite, Cole and Paul jumped the victims and robbed them.

The brother, 18, who was a student at Florida State University, was beaten, had his throat slit and left in the forest. His sister, who was 21 and a senior at Eckerd College, was taken back to the campsite, where Cole tied her up and raped her.

The woman was left tied to a tree overnight and raped again the next day. She eventually managed to free herself and flag down a driver for help. Police found her brother’s body lying face down on the ground, according to court records.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant for Cole last month.

Lawyers for Cole, 57, raised several points in their appeal, including the fact that Cole was an inmate at a state-run reform school where he and other boys were beaten and raped. The state has since apologized for the abuse and this year passed a law authorizing reparations for inmates at the now-shuttered reform school.

The state Supreme Court rejected the defense’s arguments.

Paul and Cole were convicted of first-degree murder. Paul was sentenced to life.

The execution will be the first in Florida since Michael Zack was put to death last October for the 1996 killing of Ravonne Smith.

https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/florida-to-execute-man-convicted-of-1994-killing-of-college-student-in-national-forest/3403745

Loran Cole Execution

A Florida man convicted of killing a college freshman and raping the murder victim’s older sister while the siblings camped in a national forest 30 years ago was executed Thursday.

Loran Cole, 57, received a lethal injection and was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. at Florida State Prison for the 1994 killing of the 18-year-old student. Cole also was serving two life sentences for rape.

Cole did not have a last statement. “No sir,” he said when asked if he had some final words.

After the procedure began about 6 p.m. Cole briefly looked up at a witness in the front row. After three minutes, he began taking deep breaths, his cheeks puffing out. For a brief moment, his entire body trembled. Five minutes into the procedure, the warden shook him and shouted his name. Cole then appeared to stop breathing and then was declared dead

Cole and a friend, William Paul, befriended the two college students in the Ocala National Forest, court records showed. After talking around a fire, the men offered to take the siblings to see a pond. While away from the campsite, Cole and Paul jumped the victims and robbed them, according to the records.

The brother, 18, who was a student at Florida State University, was beaten and had his throat slit and left in the forest. His sister, then a 21-year-old senior at Eckerd College, was taken back to the campsite, where Cole tied her up and raped her, according to the record.

The woman was left tied to a tree overnight and raped again the next day. She eventually managed to free herself and flagged down a driver for help. Police found her brother’s body lying face down on the ground, according to court records.

Paul and Cole were both convicted of first-degree murder. Paul was sentenced to life in prison.

Although they did not attend the execution, the parents of the victims had a statement read afterward by corrections officials. They wrote about how the murder of their son and the attack on their daughter had shattered their lives. But they said their daughter had gone on to become a wife, teacher and professor.

“Though invisible to others, our daughter bears internal scars that will never go away. She battled years of fear, pain and sorrow,” the statement said. “She is our hero.”

“We are void of feelings and empathy for Mr. Cole. He placed himself into this arena,” it added. “He does not deserve mercy.”

The Associated Press does not generally identify victims of sexual assault unless they come forward publicly.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant for Cole last month.

The execution was the first in Florida since Michael Zack was put to death last October for the 1996 killing of Ravonne Smith.

Department of Corrections officials described Cole as “compliant” in the hours before his execution and said he had two visitors, including his son.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied Cole’s final appeal earlier Thursday.

His lawyers had raised several points in seeking a stay of execution, including the fact that Cole was an inmate at a state-run reform school where he and other boys were beaten and raped. The state has since apologized for the abuse and this year passed a law authorizing reparations for inmates at the now-shuttered reform school. The lawyers also argued Cole shouldn’t be executed because he was mentally ill and had brain damage and Parkinson’s disease.

https://apnews.com/article/florida-execution-loran-cole-death-penalty-b1f94798d3f6adf86f21fc611dd4c341

Michael Zack Execution Scheduled For Tuesday

Michael Zack is scheduled to be executed by the State of Florida for a double murder on Tuesday

According to court documents Michael Zack would sexually assault and murder the first victim Laura Rosillo. Zack would later murder Ravonne Kennedy Smith

Michael Zack would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Michael Zack is scheduled to be executed on October 3 2023

Michael Zack was executed by lethal injection on October 3 2023

Michael Zack Case

A man is scheduled to die by lethal injection over 25 years after he killed women het met in north Florida bars during a dayslong spate of crimes.

Michael Zack III is set to die at 6 p.m. Tuesday for the murder of Ravonne Smith, a bar employee he befriended and later beat and stabbed with an oyster knife in June 1996. He was also convicted and separately sentenced to life in prison for murdering Laura Rosillo, who he met at a bar in a nearby county.

Zack’s nine-day crime run began in Tallahassee, where he was a regular at a bar. When Zack’s girlfriend called and said he was being evicted, the bartender offered to loan him her pickup truck. Zack left with it and never returned, according to court records.

Zack drove to a Niceville bar in the Florida Panhandle, where he befriended a construction company owner. The man learned Zack was living in the pickup truck and offered to let him stay at his home. Zack later stole two guns and $42. He pawned the guns, according to court records.

At yet another bar, he met Rosillo and invited her to the beach to do drugs. He then beat her, dragged her partially clothed into the dunes, strangled her and kicked sand over her face, according to court records. The next day he went to a Pensacola bar, where he met Smith. The two went to the beach to smoke marijuana and later she took him to the home she shared with her boyfriend.

At the home, Zack smashed her over the head with a bottle, slammed her head into the floor, raped her and stabbed her four times in the center of the chest with the oyster knife. He then stole her television, VCR and purse and tried to pawn the electronics. The pawn shop suspected the items were stolen and Zack fled and hid in an empty house for two days before being arrested, according to court records.

Zack, now 54, admitted killing Smith. He became enraged and beat her when she made a comment about his mother’s murder, which his sister committed, Zack said. He said he thought Smith was going to another room to get a gun when he stabbed her in self defense.

Zack’s lawyers sought to stop the execution, arguing he is a victim of fetal alcohol syndrome and posttraumatic stress disorder. The U.S. Supreme Court denied Zack’s appeal for a stay of execution Monday afternoon without comment.

Zack’s execution would be the eighth under Gov. Ron DeSantis dating back to 2019 and the sixth this year after no executions in 2020 through 2022. DeSantis has made tougher, more far-reaching death penalty laws an issue in his presidential campaign.

https://apnews.com/article/florida-execution-women-murdered-f3c127dbe11512bd4cd5c9ed6860d16c

Michael Zack Execution

A man who killed two women after meeting them a day apart in north Florida bars in 1996 was put to death Tuesday evening.

Michael Zack III, 54, was pronounced dead minutes after 6:14 p.m. following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Starke.

The execution started promptly at 6 p.m. Zack was asked if he had any last words, and he answered, “Yes sir.” He then lifted his head to look at the witnesses and said, “I love you all.”

He was executed for the murder of Ravonne Smith, a bar employee he befriended and later beat and stabbed with an oyster knife in June 1996. He also was convicted and separately sentenced to life in prison for murdering Laura Rosillo, who he met at another Florida Panhandle bar.

Zack’s nine-day crime run that year began in Tallahassee, the state capital, where he was a regular at a bar. When Zack’s girlfriend called and said he was being evicted, the bartender offered to loan him her pickup truck. Zack left with it and never returned, according to court records.

Zack drove to a bar in Niceville in the Florida Panhandle, where he befriended a construction company owner. The man learned Zack was living in the pickup truck and offered to let him stay at his home. Zack later stole two guns and $42. He pawned the guns, according to court records.

At the home, Zack smashed her over the head with a bottle, slammed her head into the floor, raped her and stabbed her four times in the center of the chest with the oyster knife, court records show. He then stole the woman’s television, VCR and purse and tried to pawn the electronics. The pawn shop suspected the items were stolen and Zack fled and hid in an empty house for two days before he was arrested, according to court records.

Zack, now 54, admitted to killing Smith. He said he became enraged and beat her when she made a comment about his mother’s murder, which his sister committed. He also said he thought Smith was going to another room to get a gun when he stabbed her in self defense.

Zack’s lawyers had sought to stop the execution, arguing that he was a victim of fetal alcohol syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder. On Monday afternoon, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Zack’s appeal for a stay of execution without comment.

Zack’s execution was the eighth under Gov. Ron DeSantis since 2019 and the sixth this year after no executions were carried out from 2020 to 2022. DeSantis has made tougher, more far-reaching death penalty laws an issue in his presidential campaign.

https://apnews.com/article/florida-execution-women-murdered-f3c127dbe11512bd4cd5c9ed6860d16c

James Barnes Execution Scheduled For Tonight

James Barnes is scheduled to be executed by the State of Florida tonight, August 3 2023, for the murder of Patricia Miller

According to court documents James Barnes would enter the home of Patricia Miller where he would strip naked. Patricia Miller would be tied up, sexually assaulted and murdered. Barnes would set her bed on fire before fleeing

James Barnes would later be arrested and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife and would later confess to the murder of Patricia Miller

James Barnes would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

James Barnes More News

Florida is preparing to execute a man convicted of strangling his wife and brutally murdering another woman years earlier — a lethal injection that’s expected to proceed on schedule after he dropped all legal appeals and said he wants to accept his punishment.

James Phillip Barnes, 61, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. Thursday at Florida State Prison in Starke. He would be the fifth person put to death in the state this year.

James Barnes was serving a life sentence for the 1997 strangulation of his wife, 44-year-old Linda Barnes, when he wrote letters in 2005 to a state prosecutor claiming responsibility for the killing years earlier of Patricia “Patsy” Miller, a nurse who lived in a condominium in Melbourne, along Florida’s east coast.

James Barnes represented himself in court hearings where he offered no defense, pleaded guilty to killing Miller and did not attempt to seek a life sentence rather than the death penalty. Miller, who was 41 when Barnes killed her, had had some unspecified negative interactions with him, according to a jailhouse interview he gave to film director Werner Herzog.

“There were several events that happened (with Miller). I felt terribly humiliated, that’s all I can say,” Barnes said in the interview.

Barnes killed Miller at her home on April 20, 1988. When he pleaded guilty, Barnes told the judge that after breaking into Miller’s unit, “I raped her twice. I tried to strangle her to death. I hit her head with a hammer and killed her and I set her bed on fire,” according to court records.

There was also DNA evidence linking Barnes to Miller’s killing. Barnes pleaded guilty to killing her and was sentenced to death on Dec. 13, 2007. He also pleaded guilty to sexual battery, arson, and burglary with an assault and battery.

James Barnes killed his wife in 1997 after she discovered that he was dealing drugs. Her body was found stuffed in a closet after she was strangled, court records show. Barnes has claimed to have killed at least two other people but has never been charged in those cases.

Barnes had been in and out of prison since his teenage years, including convictions for grand theft, forgery, burglary and trafficking in stolen property.

In the Miller case, state lawyers appointed to represent Barnes filed initial appeals, including one that led to mental competency evaluations. Two doctors found that Barnes had symptoms of personality disorder with “borderline antisocial and sociopathic features.” However, they pronounced him competent to understand his legal situation and plead guilty, and his convictions and death sentence were upheld.

After Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his death warrant in June, a Brevard County judge granted Barnes’ motion to drop all appeals involving mitigating evidence such as his mental condition and said “that he wanted to accept responsibility for his actions and to proceed to execution (his death) without any delay,” court records show.

Though unusual, condemned inmates sometimes don’t pursue every legal avenue to avoid execution. The Death Penalty Information Center reports that about 150 such inmates have been put to death since the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the death penalty as constitutional in 1976.

The Florida Supreme Court accepted the Brevard County ruling, noting last week that no other motion seeking a stay of execution for Barnes had been filed in state or federal court.

n the Herzog interview, Barnes said he converted to Islam in prison and wanted to clear his conscience about the Miller case during the holy month of Ramadan.

“They say I’m remorseless. I’m not. There are no more questions on this case. And I’m going to be executed,” Barnes said.

In a recent letter, the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops asked DeSantis to grant a stay of execution and commute Barnes’ sentence to life in prison even though Barnes isn’t seeking such relief. The Catholic church opposes the death penalty.

“Mr. Barnes’ willing acceptance of death, the punishment put in place by the justice system, does not absolve the state from bringing it about. Simply put, no one should be executed in our modern penal system, even if they willingly accept it,” the letter said.

https://apnews.com/article/florida-execution-phillip-linda-barnes-patsy-miller-bfe6d468b3b7d27ee8de10187fa6f459

James Barnes Execution

A Florida man who recently dropped all legal appeals was executed Thursday for the 1988 murder of a woman who was sexually assaulted, killed with a hammer and then set on fire in her own bed.

James Phillip Barnes, 61, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Starke.

Lying on a gurney, Barnes appeared to already have his eyes shut when the curtain was opened for witnesses. He didn’t respond when prison officials asked if he had a final statement, and he remained motionless except for breathing for about 10 minutes until that stopped. A doctor then pronounced him dead

The 61-year-old inmate was sentenced to death for the murder of nurse Patricia “Patsy” Miller. It was the fifth execution in Florida this year.

One of the victim’s siblings, Andrew Miller, witnessed the execution and said he came to remember his sister.

“I did not come here to watch someone die. I came here to honor our sister, Patricia Miller,” he told reporters afterward. “No one should live in fear within the safety of their own home. No woman, no child, no animal should have that fear. We did.”

Barnes was serving a life sentence for the 1997 strangulation of his wife, 44-year-old Linda Barnes, when he wrote letters in 2005 to a state prosecutor claiming responsibility for killing Miller years earlier at her condominium in Melbourne on Florida’s east coast.

Barnes represented himself in court hearings where he offered no defense, pleaded guilty to killing Miller and did not attempt to seek a life sentence rather than the death penalty

Miller, who was 41 when Barnes killed her on April 20, 1988, had some previous unspecified negative interactions with him, according to a jailhouse interview he gave German film director Werner Herzog.

“There were several events that happened (with Miller). I felt terribly humiliated, that’s all I can say,” Barnes said in the interview.

When he pleaded guilty, Barnes told the judge that after breaking into Miller’s unit, “I raped her twice. I tried to strangle her to death. I hit her head with a hammer and killed her and I set her bed on fire,” according to court records.

There was also DNA evidence linking Barnes to Miller’s killing. After pleading guilty, Barnes was sentenced to death on Dec. 13, 2007. He also pleaded guilty to sexual battery, arson, and burglary with an assault and battery.

Barnes killed his wife in 1997 after she discovered that he was dealing drugs. Her body was found stuffed in a closet after she was strangled, court records show. Barnes has claimed to have killed at least two other people but has never been charged in those cases.

Barnes had been in and out of prison since his teenage years, including time served for convictions for grand theft, forgery, burglary and trafficking in stolen property.

After DeSantis signed the inmate’s death warrant in June, a Brevard County judge granted Barnes’ motion to drop all appeals involving mitigating evidence such as his mental condition and said “that he wanted to accept responsibility for his actions and to proceed to execution (his death) without any delay,” court records show.

The Florida Supreme Court accepted the Brevard County ruling, noting that no other motion seeking a stay of execution for Barnes had been filed in state or federal court

n the Herzog interview, Barnes said he had converted to Islam in prison and wanted to clear his conscience about the Miller case during the holy month of Ramadan.

“They say I’m remorseless. I’m not. There are no more questions on this case. And I’m going to be executed,” Barnes said

https://apnews.com/article/florida-execution-phillip-linda-barnes-patsy-miller-ddd049645a792429e70d15819074a164

Duane Owen Execution Scheduled For Tonight

Duane Owen is set to be executed by the State of Florida tonight, June 15 2023, for two separate murders and sexual assaults

According to court documents Duane Owen would attack 14-year-old babysitter Karen Slattery in March 1984. The teenage girl would be sexually assaulted and murdered. Two months later Owen would sexually assault and murder Georgianna Worden on May 29, 1984.

Duane Owen would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death in 1986

Duane Owen News

Thursday, convicted murderer Duane Owen, 62, is scheduled to be executed in Florida, almost 40 years after the separate brutal murders of a mother and a 14-year-old babysitter in Palm Beach County.

Owen’s attorney has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt Thursday’s execution, arguing that Owen is not competent to be executed.

He “lacks a rational understanding of the connection between his crime and impending execution due to his fixed psychotic delusions and dementia,” Lisa M. Fusaro argued in the filing.

Attorneys for the state of Florida filed their own motions Tuesday arguing the Supreme Court should not halt the execution, saying it is “not in the public interest” to further delay punishment using the same mental health arguments that have failed in numerous attempts before.

Owen confessed to breaking into a Delray Beach home in 1984, where 14-year-old Karen Slattery was babysitting, waited until she put the children to bed and then confronting her nude except for boxer shorts, gloves and socks, holding a knife and a hammer.

He stabbed her 18 times, then dragged her unconscious body to a bedroom where he raped her.

Afterward, court records show he said he checked in on the sleeping children, then took a shower and left.

Two months later, investigators found Owen’s fingerprint on a book near the body of Georgianna Worden, 38, of Boca Raton.

Worden had been bludgeoned to death with a hammer and then raped and posed while her two daughters slept in the next room. They discovered her body the next morning.

Court records show Owen had also broken into the homes of two other women in a similar fashion and brutally attacked and assaulted them.

Owen was convicted and sentenced to death in both cases, but his conviction in Slattery’s murder was overturned by the Supreme Court on an argument that a statement he made during his confession should have halted the questioning.

That decision was later reversed, and Owen received a new trial in 1999, although he was already facing the death penalty in Worden’s case.

Owen used an insanity defense in that trial, claiming he wanted to be a woman and thought he could become one by killing a woman.

The jury once again convicted him, and Judge Harold Cohen sentenced him to death.

Attorneys appealed the conviction, but the Supreme Court affirmed it.

Unless there is a stay by the U.S. Supreme Court, Duane Owen is scheduled to die by lethal injection Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Florida State Prison in Starke.

WPBF 25 News Investigative Reporter Terri Parker, who covered the murders in 1984 and the retrial in 1999, will be a witness to the execution.

https://www.wpbf.com/article/florida-duane-owen-execution/44201622#

Darryl Barwick Execution Scheduled For Tonight

Darryl Barwick is scheduled to be executed tonight, May 3 2023, by the State of Florida for a murder that was committed in 1986

According to court documents Darryl Barwick would follow Rebecca Wendt into her Panama City Florida apartment and would attempt to sexually assault the woman before stabbing her 37 times

Darryl Barwick would be convicted of murder, armed burglary, attempted sexual battery and armed robbery.

Darryl Barwick was executed on May 3 2023

Darryl Barwick Execution

Florida is scheduled to execute a man Wednesday for breaking into a woman’s home and stabbing her to death in 1986, a crime that came months after he was released from prison for rape.

Darryl Barwick, 56, is set to be executed at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison in Starke.

Darryl Barwick confessed to killing 24-year-old Rebecca Wendt in her Panama City apartment on March 31, 1986, after watching her sunbathing outside and following her back to her room. He said he intended to rob Wendt but then killed her as she resisted, stabbing her 37 times while she tried to fight him off.

Wendt’s bathing suit appeared as though someone had tried unsuccessfully to remove it, officials said. There was no evidence of sexual assault, but medical examiners reported finding semen on a blanket where her body was found.

Authorities linked Barwick to the crime through his confession, the semen stain, a witness who saw him heading toward and leaving Wendt’s apartment, and footprints left inside and outside the apartment.

He was convicted of first-degree murder, armed burglary, attempted sexual battery and armed robbery in November 1986, and sentenced to death two months later on the jury’s 9-3 recommendation.

Darryl Barwick killed Wendt less than three months after he was released from prison for raping a 21-year-old woman at knifepoint, according to court records. In his confession for Wendt’s killing, Barwick said he stabbed Wendt because he did not want to go back to prison.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Barwick’s death warrant last month. It is the third execution scheduled in Florida this year after a break dating back to 2019. The execution will mark the state’s 102nd since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976.

https://apnews.com/article/execution-death-penalty-florida-stabbing-f4c34bbd5ec3a7613977772a2f19503f

Darryl Barwick Execution – May 3 2023

A Florida man was executed Wednesday for breaking into a woman’s home and stabbing her to death in 1986, a crime committed months after he was released from prison for a rape.

Darryl B. Barwick, 56, was pronounced dead at 6:14 p.m. Wednesday following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison, the office of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said. The U.S. Supreme Court denied the inmate’s final appeal for a stay of execution earlier in the day.

After being brought into the death camber, Barwick said, “I can’t explain why I did what I did. It’s time to apologize to the family … I’m sorry.” He added that he state needs to show more compassion and kindness for people, criticizing Florida’s sentencing of teenagers to life in prison.

Barwick began receiving the sedative at 6:02 p.m. and closed his eyes several minutes later. The warden checked Barwick’s eyes, shook his shoulders and yelled his name to make sure he was unconscious before the execution continued.

Barwick didn’t meet in person with family members in his final hours, but had spoken with them by phone in recent days, prison officials said ahead of the 6 p.m. execution time. Officials said no relatives of the victim had arranged to witness the execution.

Barwick had confessed to killing 24-year-old Rebecca Wendt in her Panama City apartment on March 31, 1986, after watching her sunbathing outside and following her back to her room. He said he intended to rob Wendt but then killed her as she resisted, stabbing her 37 times as she tried to fight him off.

Authorities said they linked Barwick to the crime through his confession, the semen stain, a witness who saw him heading toward and leaving Wendt’s apartment, and footprints left inside and outside the apartment.

He was convicted of first-degree murder, armed burglary, attempted sexual battery and armed robbery in November 1986, and sentenced to death two months later on the jury’s 9-3 recommendation. The Florida Supreme Court threw out that conviction in 1989 because of prosecutorial misconduct. Barwick was again convicted at his 1992 retrial, and that jury unanimously recommended death.

Barwick killed Wendt less than three months after he was released from prison for raping a 21-year-old woman at knifepoint, according to court records. In his confession for Wendt’s killing, Barwick said he stabbed her because he did not want to go back to prison.

DeSantis signed Barwick’s death warrant last month. It was the third execution conducted in Florida this year after a hiatus dating back to 2019. It also was the state’s 102nd execution since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976.

https://apnews.com/article/execution-death-penalty-florida-stabbing-f4c34bbd5ec3a7613977772a2f19503f