Delhi 20 march 2025 (Punjab Khabarnama Bureau): A Florida man who killed an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother on a night in which he drank heavily and used drugs is set to be executed Thursday.
Edward James, 63, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison outside Starke under a death warrant signed in February by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Barring a last-minute reprieve, the execution is to be the second this year in Florida, which is planning a third in April.
Three other executions were scheduled this week around the United States: Louisiana put a man to death Tuesday using nitrogen gas for the first time as it resumed executions after a 15-year hiatus. Arizona on Wednesday lethally injected a man who had kidnapped and murdered his girlfriend’s ex-husband. Another lethal injection is planned Thursday in Oklahoma.
James drew the death penalty for the Sept. 19, 1993, killings of 8-year-old Toni Neuner and Betty Dick, 58, the child’s grandmother. James had been renting a room in Dick’s house in Casselberry. where Toni Neuner and three other children were also staying that night.
Court records show James drank up to 24 beers at a party, downed some gin and also took LSD before returning to his room at Dick’s house. The girl was raped and strangled to death. The other children were not harmed.
James, who pleaded guilty to the charges, was also found guilty of the rape and of stealing Dick’s jewelry and car after stabbing her 21 times. Court documents show James drove the car across the country, occasionally selling pieces of jewelry until he was arrested on Oct. 6 of that year in Bakersfield, California.
Summary: A Florida man is set to be executed for the brutal killing of an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother, marking a significant legal closure in the case.