A man convicted of raping and murdering his neighbor in 1998 was executed in Florida on Tuesday, marking the 15th execution in the state over the past year.
According to Fox News, Alex Lanfranconi, a spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), confirmed that 65-year-old Norman Mearle Grim Jr. received a three-drug injection at the Florida State Prison and was pronounced dead at 6:14 p.m. on Tuesday. The Independent Florida Alligator reported that Florida has executed more criminals this year than in any other year since the reinstatement of the death penalty by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976.
Fox News reported that Grim was sentenced to death following his conviction for the first-degree murder and sexual battery of Cynthia Campbell. The outlet noted that Campbell’s battered body was found by a fisherman in the waters near Pensacola Bay Bridge after she was reported missing in July of 1998.
According to Fox News, Grim was linked to Campbell’s murder by physical evidence, including DNA. Prosecutors claimed that Campbell was stabbed 11 times in her chest and sustained multiple blunt-force injuries on her head and face consistent with injuries caused by a hammer. An autopsy of Campbell’s body determined that seven of the stab wounds penetrated the victim’s heart.
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The DeSantis spokesperson confirmed that Grim was asked if he had any final statement to give before he was executed on Tuesday. In response, the convicted criminal said, “No sir.” Lanfranconi also confirmed that no complications were encountered during Tuesday’s execution.
Fox News reported that prior to this year’s historic number of executions, Florida’s highest total of executions since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976 had been set at eight in 2014. The outlet noted that Florida has executed more individuals this year than any other state and that two additional executions are currently expected to take place next month in the state.
According to Fox News, 66-year-old Bryan Fredrick Jennings is currently scheduled to be executed on November 13 after being convicted of raping and murdering a 6-year-old girl in Florida in 1979. Meanwhile, 63-year-old Richard Barry Randolph is scheduled to be executed on November 20 after being convicted of raping and fatally beating his former manager at a convenience store in Florida in 1988.
