For the first time since 1996, Florida executed inmate Loran Cole, 57, convicted of murder. In 1994, Cole killed an 18-year-old student John Edwards and raped his older sister in the Ocala National Forest during a camping weekend.
Cole was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. Thursday after three doses of lethal injection, which began at 6:03 p.m.
Timothy and Victoria Edwards, parents of John, said in a statement, “Mr. Cole has been granted 30 years of life in Florida State Prison… During those 30 years, he has been free to read books, study, eat proper meals, sleep in a bed, get medical care, bathe and exercise, receive visitors and to simply exist. This is something he brutally took from our son – life. That cannot be undone.”
On the other side, Cole’s son Ryan said, “Saying goodbye to my dad was the hardest thing I’ve ever done…I am being punished for something I believe now is something my dad didn’t even do.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant for Cole last month.
By - FZ
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