James Ford, a 64-year-old inmate convicted of the brutal 1997 murders of Greg and Kimberly Malnory, was executed by lethal injection Thursday evening at Florida State Prison. The execution, carried out at 6:19 p.m., marks the first in Florida this year and brings closure to a decades-long legal battle.
Ford was sentenced to death for the murders of the Malnorys, a young couple who were found dead at a Charlotte County sod farm where Ford and Greg Malnory worked. The crime, described as particularly heinous, shocked the community and left the couple’s 22-month-old daughter orphaned.
READ: Florida Gov. DeSantis Orders Flags At Half-Staff To Honor Marjory Stoneman Douglas Remembrance Day
According to court documents, Ford had planned to go fishing with the Malnorys on a Sunday in March 1997. The couple’s bodies were discovered the following day by another employee at the remote sod farm. Greg Malnory, 34, had been shot in the head, beaten, and had his throat slit. Kimberly Malnory, 32, was raped, beaten, and shot.
The couple’s toddler daughter was found unharmed but had been left in a car seat inside their pickup truck for more than 18 hours after the murders.
Ford’s execution came after years of appeals and legal challenges. On January 10, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for Ford, setting the stage for his execution.
READ: Florida Highway Patrol Seeks Suspect Vehicle In I-275 Road Rage Shooting Targeting Lutz Woman
Ford’s attorneys made a final appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that he had the mental and developmental age of a 14-year-old at the time of the murders, despite being 36 years old.
The defense attempted to draw a parallel to the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roper v. Simmons, which barred the execution of defendants who were under 18 at the time of their crimes, citing the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
However, both a Charlotte County circuit judge and the Florida Supreme Court rejected these arguments, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied Ford’s final appeal on Wednesday.
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Connect with us: Follow the Tampa Free Press on Facebook and Twitter for breaking news and updates.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.