"Florida executes man for 1994 rape, murder of girl," is the AP report filed by Jason Dearen.
Eddie Wayne Davis was executed by lethal injection Thursday at 6:43 p.m. It was the state's seventh execution this year.
The 45-year-old Davis was convicted in 1995 of first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual battery in the slaying of Kimberly Waters, the daughter of a woman Davis had dated briefly.
"Child-killer’s execution is Florida’s 7th this year," is by Bill Cotterell for Reuters, via the Columbus Dispatch.
Davis is the seventh person executed in Florida this year, matching the total number of executions in 2013. The state has not seen more executions in a single year since 1984, when eight prisoners were put to death, according to the Department of Corrections.
The Florida Supreme Court on Monday rejected Davis’ claim that a metabolic blood disorder known as porphyria might cause him to have a painful reaction to midazolam, the first of three drugs used by the state in executing convicted killers.
The Lakeland Ledger reports, "Eddie Wayne Davis Executed for Rape, Murder of 11-Year-Old Lakeland Girl." It's by Suzie Schottelkotte.
Prison officials were notified at 5:45 p.m. Thursday that the U.S. Supreme Court had denied Davis' last appeal.
Despite the last-minute efforts by his lawyers to halt the execution for fear a possible blood disorder combined with the injected drugs would cause Davis extreme pain, he showed no signs of discomfort. Two minutes after beginning the lethal injection, the unidentified execution leader leaned into Davis, appearing to check for consciousness. A minute later, Davis' mouth fell open slightly and he began breathing heavily.
Four minutes after the process began, Davis' breathing grew shallow and he became very still.
At 6:43 p.m., 11 minutes after the lethal injection began and after a physician's examination, the execution leader announced that the sentence against Davis had been carried out.
Behind a glass window, Polk Sheriff Grady Judd and Assistant State Attorney John Aguero, who prosecuted Davis in 1995, sat among the 23 witnesses who watched as the state took Davis' life.
It was the 24th execution in an American death penalty state this year; a total of 1,383 post-Furman executions since 1977. Florida has executed 88 men and women since 1979.
Earlier coverage from Florida begins at the link.
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