Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant Monday for Loran Cole, an inmate convicted of the 1994 murder of John Edwards, a Florida State University student who was camping with his sister in the Ocala National Forest.
Cole, 57, is scheduled for execution on August 29 at Florida State Prison, according to documents released on the Florida Supreme Court website.
This execution would be the first in Florida since October, when Michael Duane Zack was executed by lethal injection for a 1996 murder in Escambia County.
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Cole, along with accomplice William Paul, was convicted of killing Edwards during a camping trip. Paul pleaded guilty and received a life sentence, while Cole was sentenced to death in 1997.
The signing of the death warrant on Monday will initiate rapid legal actions.
With the execution date set for one month, the Florida Supreme Court has issued an order to expedite all proceedings in the case.
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