A Florida man set to be executed this week appeals to the US Supreme Court for a stay
Aug 26, 2024, 12:07 PM
FILE - This inmate photo provided by the Florida Department of Corrections shows Loran K. Cole, convicted of kidnapping adult siblings camping in a national forest in 1994 before raping the sister and murdering the brother. (Florida Department of Corrections via AP, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(Florida Department of Corrections via AP, File)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man scheduled to be put to death on Thursday is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to delay his execution so that his challenge to Florida’s lethal injection procedures can be heard.
Loran Cole, 57, is slated to be executed at 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Florida State Prison after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his death warrant in July. Cole was convicted of kidnapping adult siblings camping in the Ocala National Forest in 1994, raping the sister and murdering the brother.
On Monday, Cole appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the execution, arguing that his challenge of the state’s lethal injection procedures deserves to be heard. Cole has argued the administration of Florida’s drug cocktail will “very likely cause him needless pain and suffering” due to symptoms caused by his Parkinson’s disease.
“Cole’s Parkinson’s symptoms will make it impossible for Florida to safely and humanely carry out his execution because his involuntary body movements will affect the placement of the intravenous lines necessary to carry out an execution by lethal injection,” his attorneys argued in court filings.
Many of Florida’s death penalty procedures are Botched executions in other states have brought increased scrutiny of the death penalty and the secrecy around it, as officials struggle to secure the necessary drug cocktails and staff capable of administering them.
In their filings, Cole’s attorneys note that other death row inmates were granted similar hearings to consider how their medical conditions could affect their executions. Cole’s legal team claims that denying him a hearing violates his 14th Amendment rights to due process and equal protection.
On Aug. 23, the Florida Supreme Court beaten, raped and killed.
___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
