Robert Hendrix was executed by the State of Florida for the murders of two relatives. According to court documents Robert Hendrix was upset that his cousin testified against him regarding a robbery so he shot and killed his cousin and his cousin’s wife. Robert Hendrix would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. Robert Hendrix would be executed by lethal injection on April 23, 2014
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A man convicted of killing his cousin and the man’s wife to prevent his cousin from testifying against him in a burglary case was executed in Florida on Wednesday, a state prison official said.
Robert Eugene Hendrix, 47, was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m. local time from a lethal injection, said Jessica Cary, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections.
Hendrix was convicted of shooting, stabbing and beating Elmer Scott and his wife, Michelle Scott, at their mobile home in Sorrento, central Florida.
Hendrix and Elmer Scott had been involved in a home burglary, for which Scott was caught and given a reduced sentence in exchange for his testimony against Hendrix.
On August 27, 1990, the eve of his trial, Hendrix and his girlfriend, Denise Turbyville, shot his cousin, beat his head with a pistol and stabbed him in the neck, prosecutors said. When Michelle Scott intervened, she was stabbed and shot.
Turbyville, who received 75 years in prison for second-degree murder, testified against Hendrix to avoid the death penalty. She said Hendrix had discussed his plans to kill Scott and avert going back to prison, where he served 15 months for grand theft, burglary and dealing in stolen property in the Orlando area.
Defense attorneys contended Turbyville and a former cellmate of Hendrix were unreliable witnesses because they were seeking sentence reductions.
They also said the trial judge had a conflict of interest because before becoming a judge he had consulted with Turbyville’s defense lawyer, and that trial jurors had seen Hendrix shackled in the courtroom, creating a bias affecting his right to a presumption of innocence.
His appellate lawyers also contended that Hendrix received poor representation in the sentencing phase of his trial because his counsel did not produce evidence that he was addicted to drugs and had been severely beaten by his father.
The Florida Supreme Court rejected those arguments.
Florida Governor Rick Scott has overseen 15 previous executions since becoming governor in early 2011.
Robert Henry was executed by the State of Florida for a double murder committed during a robbery. According to court documents Robert Henry would rob a Cloth World and in the process would beat the two workers with a hammer before setting them on fire causing their deaths. Robert Henry would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. Robert Henry would be executed by lethal injection on March 20, 2014
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The man convicted of killing two female co-workers by beating them with a hammer and setting them ablaze during a robbery at the store where they worked has been executed.
Authorities say 55-year-old Robert L. Henry was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. following a lethal injection Thursday at the Florida State Prison.
He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in the Nov. 2, 1987, slayings of 53-year-old Phyllis Harris and 35-year-old Janet Thermidor at the Cloth World store in Deerfield Beach. Authorities said he stole $1,269 from the fabric store.
Thermidor lived for hours after being attacked and identified Henry to investigators. Michael Satz, prosecutor at Henry’s 1988 trial, told jurors the killings were evil, adding “He literally burned them up.”
Although Henry at first told police the crime was committed by an unknown assailant, Thermidor lived long enough to positively identify him as the perpetrator in a recorded statement to investigators. Broward State Attorney Michael Satz, who prosecuted the 1988 trial, told the jury that Henry had committed one of the most cold-blooded acts in recent memory.
Barring a last-minute reprieve from the United States Supreme Court, Henry will be put to death Thursday. The Florida Supreme Court rejected his most recent appeals last week, including yet another challenge to the state’s method of lethal injection. Henry would be the fourth person executed in Florida this year.
In his latest appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, Henry’s lawyers cite medical experts who claim that one of the drugs used in Florida’s lethal injection procedure, midazolam, could cause a heart attack and extreme pain, because Henry suffers from coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.
His lawyers seek a stay of execution so those issues can be sorted out, citing the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
In response, the Florida attorney general’s office said there is no requirement for a hearing for each inmate who claims he might suffer some level of pain in the execution process. They also noted that five death row inmates have been executed “without any mishap” using the newer drug combination.
According to trial testimony and his own statements to police, Henry first approached Harris after the store had closed on Nov. 2, 1987, telling her unknown robbers had ordered him to tie her up and blindfold her.
Henry took Harris to a restroom, tied her to a urinal, then went to the store’s office where he hit Thermidor repeatedly on the head with hammer, doused her with a flammable liquid and set her on fire. Henry then went back to the restroom and attacked Harris with the hammer, setting her ablaze as well.
Authorities responding to the fire found Harris dead, but Thermidor still alive, after she had tried to douse the flames in a second restroom. She lived about 12 hours, and her statement pointed to Robert Henry. He was arrested the next day.
Henry was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, armed robbery and arson, largely on the strength of Thermidor’s deathbed statement
Henry’s lawyer tried unsuccessfully to persuade jurors that Thermidor never said on the tape that she actually saw Henry and that police had improperly coerced his confession.
Paul Howell was executed by the State of Florida for the murder of a State Trooper. According to court documents Paul Howell had made a pipe bomb and had placed it in a microwave with the intention of killing someone who could connect him to a murder. Paul Howell would hire another man to deliver the bomb but as he was driving to the witness home he was stopped by the police and taken into custody on an unrelated manner. Soon after the pipe bomb would explode killing State Trooper Jimmy Fulford. Paul Howell would be convicted and sentenced to death. Paul Howell would be executed on February 26, 2014
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Paul Augustus Howell, convicted in the 1992 pipe-bombing death of state trooper Jimmy Fulford, said he was sorry for his crime before he was executed Wednesday night at Florida State Prison.
“I would like to apologize to the Fulford family for what happened back in 1992,” Howell said during a more than two-minute statement. After giving the statement, Howell said prayers as he was given a series of lethal-injection drugs.
Howell, a Jamaican native who learned bomb-making skills in the Army, was a member of the violent Jamaican Posse, which was notorious for trafficking in crack cocaine and guns. He rigged a microwave oven with a pipe bomb to silence a Marianna woman who could tie him to the murder of a South Florida drug dealer.
Howell hired another man, Lester Watson, to deliver the bomb to the woman. On Feb. 1, 1992, Fulford stopped the car for speeding along Interstate 10 in Jefferson County. After examining the gift-wrapped package, the bomb exploded, killing Fulford instantly.
During his statement, Howell said he’d instructed Watson that no matter what, “Don’t let a cop get in the car.” He also said he originally was going to place the bomb inside a television set, but another woman, a cousin described in court documents as another potential witness, told him to put it in a microwave because the woman he intended to kill would be using it to heat up a bottle for her baby.
“So I’m sorry about that,” Howell said as he lay strapped to a gurney with an IV in his left arm.
The execution began about 6:18 p.m. About two minutes later, Howell closed his eyes. A couple of minutes later, the team warden conducted a consciousness check by touching his eyelash and pinching a neck muscle. He was pronounced dead at 6:32 p.m.
Howell visited earlier in the week with his wife and grown daughter at the prison. He asked that they not attend the execution. None of Fulford’s family members attended the execution, said Jessica Cary, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections.
Fulford’s twin brother, Tim Fulford, said Howell’s apology brought “a little bit of comfort.” But he said the only thing that would bring him closure is “if my brother came walking through the door.”
“The main thing I want people to know is the system takes too long,” he said. “But I’m glad it’s finally over.”
Maj. Mark Welch of the Florida Highway Patrol gave a short statement after the execution.
“Twenty-two years ago this month, the patrol lost one of its most courageous and brave officers, trooper Jimmy Fulford,” he said. “And rather than reflect on the incident that happened this night, we prefer to use this opportunity to honor trooper Fulford and let this serve as a reminder of the dangers that law-enforcement officers face each and every day they put on their uniform and leave their homes and their families behind.”
State Attorney Willie Meggs, Jefferson County Sheriff David Hobbs and Wakulla County Sheriff Charlie Creel were among the witnesses at the execution.
“For the Fulford family, I hope it brings them closure,” Meggs said. “I think justice was done. And my basis for that was Paul Howell had the opportunity to not let this happen.”
Dispatchers contacted Howell during the traffic stop, and prosecutors have said he could have signaled to someone to stay away from the bomb but never did.
Juan Chavez was executed by the State of Florida for the murder of a nine year old child. According to court documents Juan Chavez would kidnap nine year old Jimmy Ryce after the child was dropped off by his school bus. The little boy would be sexually assaulted and murdered. Juan Chavez would ultimately confess to the brutal murder. Juan Chavez would be executed by lethal injection on February 12 2014.
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Don Ryce watched his son’s killer die Wednesday night. He said Juan Carlos Chavez’s actions sealed his fate. “As a result of that choice,” Ryce said, “he died today [Wednesday].”
A last minute appeal delayed for two hours Chavez’s execution for the kidnapping, rape and murder of Jimmy Ryce, the 9-year-old boy he grabbed near the child’s bus stop south of Miami in 1995. But the U.S. Supreme Court quickly denied a stay based on complaints about lethal injection.
Don Ryce hopes other would-be sexual predators might take a lesson from the execution. He said, “Don’t kill a child because, if you do, people will not forget, they will not forgive. We will hunt you down, and we will put you to death”.
Chavez offered only a handwritten statement before being put to death. He said in part: “We men are slow to learn that since none of us is righteous, none of us can pass judgment in another’s man’s sins.”
Not a single word of remorse from a man who proclaimed himself at peace.
Laura Moreno is one of the Orlando area jurors who convicted Chavez in 1998. She witnessed his death and said, “I was expecting to feel a little sad, but I didn’t. Instead I felt a little angry that he got to have a simple peaceful death and just go to sleep. We could all wish for such a death — whereas he did not give that to Jimmy at all.”
In the end, as Don Ryce put it, a chapter needed to be closed in the life of his family. But nothing can ever fill the void left by the loss of a child whose life held so much hope and promise
Askari Muhammad also known as Thomas Knight was executed by the State of Florida for a double murder. According to court documents Askari Muhammad would murder Sydney and Lillian Gans in 1974, Askari Muhammad would also murder a correctional guard, James Burke, in 1980. Due to his mental health issues Askari Muhammad would remain on death row in Florida for forty years before being executed by lethal injection on January 7, 2014
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Askari Abdullah Muhammad, 62, an inmate with a long history of mental illness, was executed at Florida’s Starke prison Tuesday evening at 6:45 p.m. Muhammad, formerly known as Thomas Knight, is the first inmate executed in Florida this year, and the 13th executed on Gov. Rick Scott’s watch, starting with the execution of Manuel Valle in September 2011. Muhammad was on death row for four decades. He is the 82nd inmate executed in Florida since the state re-instituted the death penalty in 1973.
Askari Muhammad was sentenced to death in 1975 for the murder in July 1974 of Sydney and Lillian Gans near Miami. That death sentence was overturned in 1988, but he was again sentenced to death in 1996. Last February, a federal judge threw out that death sentence. But in the meantime, Muhammad had been convicted of another murder after he killed prison guard James Burke in 1980.
In 1974, Sydney Gans was the 64-year-old owner of a paper bag company and the Miami Beach Flamingos, a minor league baseball team. Gans gave paroled individuals work, to give them a second chance. Muhammad was one of those employees. He’d been working for Gans 10 days when he kidnapped him at gunpoint, then kidnapped his wife Lillian, taking both to a bank in Miami and forcing Sydney to withdraw $50,000 while Muhammad held a .30-caliber carbine against Lillian in the car. Sydney alerted authorities, however, before returning to the car. Police trailed the car from a distance. Muhammad was unaware
But then police lost track of the car. And Muhammad shot the couple in a wooded area at Southwest 132nd Street and 117th Avenue. Muhammad was soon found and arrested. He escaped and was at large for 101 days until he was arrested again in New Smyrna Beach.
When the prison denied him the right to see his mother in 1980, Askari Muhammad stabbed Burke to death with a sharpened spoon. By then his execution for the Gans murders had been scheduled for March 3, 1981, on a death warrant signed by Gov. Bob Graham. Knight’s reaction, as reported by the Miami Herald: “How can you execute me when I haven’t even had my trial yet about killing the guard?” His execution was stayed. He was tried. Found guilty. Sentenced to death on the Burke murder.
A series of missteps and legal reversals, followed, as chronicled by Amnesty International: In 1988, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit overturned the 1975 death sentence because the trial court had restricted consideration of mitigation evidence. It ordered the state “within a reasonable time” to either hold a resentencing or impose a sentence of less than death. A resentencing was not held for eight years, until early 1996, when Muhammad was again condemned to death for the Gans murders.
In 2012, a federal district court ordered the state to hold a new sentencing within a year or commute the death sentence to life, on the grounds that Muhammad’s right to confront a witness at his resentencing had been violated when the state presented that witness’s evidence in the form of hearsay. In September 2013, the 11th Circuit overturned this ruling, two votes to one. Gov. Rick Scott signed a death warrant for Muhammad on Oct. 21, for the James Burke murder case. The execution was set for Dec. 3. On Nov. 18, the Florida Supreme Court issued a stay of execution and remanded the case to the trial-level court for an evidentiary hearing on Florida’s revised execution protocol issued in September 2013. The stay was lifted on Dec. 19.
Just one inmate has been on death row longer than Askari Muhammad : Douglas Meeks, sentenced on march 12, 1975. There are currently 401 individuals on Florida’s death row, all but five of them men.
In 2009, the then most senior justice on the US Supreme Court, Justice John Paul Stevens, wrote that “our experience during the past three decades has demonstrated that delays in state-sponsored killings are inescapable and that executing defendant after such delays is unacceptably cruel.”
Ten years earlier, in the Askari Muhammad case and one from Nebraska, Justice Stephen Breyer had dissented against the Court’s refusal to consider the constitutionality of holding a prisoner for so long on death row. The delays in Muhammad’s case, Breyer wrote, had resulted “in large part from the States’ failure to apply constitutionally sufficient procedures at the time of initial sentencing.” In that dissent, Breyer wrote: “It is difficult to deny the suffering inherent in a prolonged wait for execution… And death row conditions of special isolation may well aggravate that suffering.”
After the stabbing of Officer Burke, Amnesty International notes, Askari Muhammad was placed in solitary confinement in the particularly harsh conditions of Q Wing in Florida’s Starke prison. A forensic psychologist later testified in the case about the “tomb-like” conditions of Q Wing, in which Muhammad was held for nine years until 1989.
Seven of the 35 executions in 2013 in the United States were carried out in Florida, the most executions in a single year in Florida since 1984.
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