The Florida Supreme Court and the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have denied attempts to block the scheduled March 20th execution of Edward James, who was convicted of the 1993 murders of a Seminole County woman and her 8-year-old granddaughter.
Both courts rejected arguments centered on James’s “cognitive decline,” with his attorney claiming that executing him would constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
James, now 63, was sentenced to death for the murders of Betty Dick and her granddaughter Toni Neuner. He, a renter at Dick’s home, committed the murders after a night of drug and alcohol use. Court documents detail that James strangled the child and sexually assaulted her before stabbing Dick to death in her bedroom.
READ: Florida Death Row Inmate’s Troubled Past Fuels Appeal To Halt Execution
Governor Ron DeSantis issued a death warrant for James on February 18th, leading to legal challenges in state and federal courts. The Florida Supreme Court unanimously upheld a lower court’s decision, stating that James’s cognitive and physical issues, including a pattern of cognitive decline, do not shield him from execution.
The state Supreme Court’s 25-page opinion highlighted that even with James’s alleged cognitive decline, his death sentence does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. They agreed with the lower court’s assessment that James’s cognitive issues do not prevent his execution.
James’s attorney, Dawn Macready, argued that his cognitive decline was exacerbated by drug and alcohol use since childhood, multiple head injuries, and a near-fatal heart attack in 2023. She presented a CT scan from after the heart attack as “newly discovered evidence” to support halting the execution.
READ: Florida Death Row Inmate Fights For Life As Execution Looms
However, the Supreme Court concurred with the lower court’s decision, stating that even if the CT scan constituted new evidence, it would not likely result in a less severe sentence. They emphasized the “weighty aggravation” of the murders, including the contemporaneous murders of the victims and the heinous, atrocious, or cruel nature of the crimes.
“James’s adult victim … died as a result of massive bleeding from dozens of stab wounds, and his 8-year-old victim … died from strangulation,” the court opinion stated.
James, who could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, is set to be the second inmate executed in Florida this year. James Ford was executed on February 13th for the 1997 murders of a couple in Charlotte County.
Additionally, Governor DeSantis signed a death warrant for Michael Tanzi, convicted in the 2000 murder of a woman in Monroe County, with his execution scheduled for April 8th.
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