Child kidnapper, rapist and killer Mark Dean Schwab was executed today by the state of Florida, the first execution since late in 2006.
Schwab, 39, was convicted of kidnapping, raping and murdering an 11-year-old Hispanic girl in 1991. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected his appeal earlier today. His execution took place at 6:00 p.m. ET, after the U.S. Supreme Court denied Schwab's appeal for a stay.
"Simply put, the claims contained in Schwab's most recent motion have already been decided adversely to him by the Circuit Court, the Florida Supreme Court, and this Court in his two previous challenges to lethal injection."
Schwab's lawyers had argued that the state's revised lethal injection procedures still were likely to cause pain and suffering, citing Florida's botched execution of Angel Diaz in December 2006. The needles missed Diaz's veins and it took 34 minutes for him to die.
"Florida is a state with a long history of failed and disconcerting executions," Schwab's appeal said, but the Florida Attorney General's Office asked the high court Tuesday to reject Schwab's appeal.
The high court gave Schwab a stay in November as it considered the constitutionality of Kentucky's procedure. When it ruled Kentucky's protocol was acceptable, it opened the door for Florida and other states with similar laws to resume executions.
Here is a report from The Associated Press.
No comments:
Post a Comment