Loran Kenstley Cole, 57, was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Raiford.
Loren Kenstley Cole, 57, was given a lethal injection and pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. Thursday at Florida State Prison. Taken from X //
The state of Florida executed the inmate on Thursday Loran Kenstley Coleconvicted of the 1994 murder of a college student after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a final appeal to stop the maximum sentence.
Cole, 57, was executed by lethal injection and declared dead at 6:15 p.m. local time (10:15 GMT) at Florida State Prison in Raiford.
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Cole’s attorneys had challenged the lethal injection procedures on the grounds that the administration of the Florida drug cocktail “will most likely cause him unnecessary pain and suffering” due to the symptoms caused by the Parkinson’s disease he suffered from.
The high court, however, refused to stop the execution, the first of the year in Florida and the 13th in the nation. Cole had no final words before being put to death, USA Today reported.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant last July after Cole was sentenced for torturing and murdering 18-year-old student John Edwards in a forest where he had camped with his sister, whom the killer raped.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Photo taken from social media/VANGUARDIA
Cole sexually assaulted a young man and killed his brother
In February 1994, Edwards and his sister, Pam Edwards, 21, set up camp in the Ocala National Forest, where they met Cole and William Paul, according to a court report.
Cole and Paul lured Edwards and his sister away from the camp, brutally attacked and robbed them.
Cole then slit Edwards’ throat, sexually assaulted the sister and left her tied to trees before she was able to escape and call police.
The killers fled in the brothers’ car.
The man who was with Cole, William Paul, who pleaded guilty at trial to first-degree murder, is currently serving a life sentence.
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The execution was the ninth to be carried out in Florida under Governor DeSantis, who pushed through a judicial reform that allows a simple majority, rather than unanimity, for the imposition of capital punishment in this state.
According to the Florida Department of Corrections, 105 people have been executed by that state since 1979.
On Friday, the Florida Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Cole, in which he also argued that his execution should be blocked because he suffered abuse at a state-run reform school where children were beaten and raped for decades.
File photo showing the facade of the Supreme Court of the United States, in Washington, DC, USA. EFE/EPA/WILL OLIVER
The death penalty in the world
The countries that execute the most prisoners in the world tend to be those with authoritarian regimes or strict legal systems that maintain the death penalty as a form of punishment. Here is an overview:
Countries that execute the most prisoners (recent data):
- China: It is the country that executes the most people, although exact figures are difficult to obtain due to state secrecy. It is estimated that thousands of people are executed every year.
- Iran:It is one of the countries with the most executions per inhabitant, with hundreds of executions annually, many of them related to drug crimes.
- Saudi Arabia:The number of executions has increased in recent years, many of them by public decapitation.
- Egypt: Executions have also increased in recent years, mostly for political reasons.
- IrakThe death penalty is frequently used, especially against those accused of terrorism.
- USAIt is one of the few Western countries that still applies the death penalty, with Texas, Florida and other states leading the way in executions.
Countries that have abolished the death penalty:
- Around 110 countries They have abolished the death penalty for all crimes.
- Approximately 8 countries They have abolished it only for common crimes in times of peace.
- Some 28 countries They have abolished it in practice, although not formally; that is, they have not carried out executions for at least 10 years.
In total, 146 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice.
Most common methods of capital punishment:
- Lethal injection: Used in the United States, China and other countries.
- Hanging: Common in countries such as Iran, Iraq and Japan.
- Shooting: Used in countries such as China, Vietnam and North Korea.
- DecapitationSaudi Arabia is the only country that regularly uses this method.
- Stoning: Although rare, it still occurs in some countries under Islamic law in cases of adultery.
With information from EFE.
The death penalty remains a controversial issue and global trends indicate a decline in its use as more countries abolish it. iStock /
