Did James Ford have any final words before Florida execution?
James Dennis Ford, a convicted killer on death row since 1999, did not share any final words before he was executed by lethal injection in Florida on Thursday.
Why It Matters
The death penalty is a legal form of criminal punishment in 27 states. Governors in California, Pennsylvania, Oregon and Ohio have currently placed executions on hold.
A poll taken by Gallup in October of last year found that 53 percent of Americans favor the death penalty, but the number differs across generations. Less than half of millennial and Gen Z adults support the punishment.
What To Know
Ford, 64, was killed at 6:19 p.m. local time at Florida State Prison in Raiford. He was the first death row inmate executed in the state of Florida this year.
Who Was James Ford?
Ford was born in 1960. He worked with his father as a cemetery caretaker after dropping out of school.
Ford's father died when Ford was in his 20s. After his father's death, Ford developed alcoholism, according to his first wife and friends. Prior to his conviction, he had no significant criminal record.
What Was James Ford Convicted Of?
Ford was convicted of sexual battery with a firearm, child abuse and two counts of first-degree murder in 1999. He was sentenced to death on the murder charges.
Who Were Kimberly And Gregory Malnory?
Married couple 25-year-old Gregory Malnory and 26-year-old Kimberly Malnory were attacked and killed during a fishing trip in Charlotte County in 1997. The couple was invited on the trip by Ford, who was Gregory's co-worker.
Ford was accused of shooting Gregory in the head before attacking him and slitting his throat. Kimberly was injured, but she managed to escape and save her 22-month-old daughter by strapping her to the backseat of the truck.
Ford caught up to Kimberly, which is when he raped and battered her before killing her with a rifle.
A worker at the farm discovered the couple's bodies. Their daughter survived the attack. She was found after being trapped inside the truck for more than 18 hours.
Gregory's autopsy report showed at least seven blunt force injuries to the head, while Kimberly's showed nine blunt force injuries to her head.
Officials alleged that Ford's statements to investigators contained multiple inconsistencies and that he was the last person who saw the couple before they died.
Ford's attorneys asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his execution on Saturday. His attorneys alleged that Ford had the developmental age of a 14-year-old when the crimes were committed, even though he was 36 at the time.
The lawyers cited a 2005 Supreme Court decision, Roper v. Simmons, that barred the execution of defendants who were under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes.
Executions In The United States
In 2024, 25 death row inmates were executed in the U.S. The number was a slight increase from 2023 when 24 inmates were executed.
In 2022, 2021 and 2020, less than 20 inmates were executed. In 2019, 22 inmates were executed.
What People Are Saying
Ford's lawyers, in a petition to the Supreme Court: "James Ford's mental and developmental age was less than age 18 at the time of the capital offense he was convicted of, and his execution should therefore be prohibited as cruel and unusual punishment under the federal Eighth Amendment, as applied to the states through the federal Fourteenth Amendment (which ensures due process rights)."
Florida Supreme Court, in an opinion: "Because Ford was 36 at the time of the murders, it is impossible for him to demonstrate that he falls within the ages of exemption, rendering his claim facially insufficient and therefore properly summarily denied."
What Happens Next
The next death row execution is scheduled for March 7. Brad Keith Sigmon is expected to be executed by lethal injection in South Carolina.
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