Florida man executed for 1993 killings of an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - A Florida man who killed an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother inside a Seminole County home on a night in which he drank heavily and used drugs was executed Thursday evening.

U.S. Supreme Court made final decision

What we know:

Edward James, a 63-year-old Florida man, was executed Thursday evening at Florida State Prison for the 1993 murders of 8-year-old Toni Neuner and her grandmother, Betty Dick.

James, who had been drinking heavily and using drugs that night, pleaded guilty but was sentenced to death by an 11-1 jury recommendation. The execution was carried out via a three-drug lethal injection, with no reported complications. James made no final statement before the drugs began flowing.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed James’ death warrant on Feb. 18. Last week, records show the Florida Supreme Court and a panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected appeals aimed at halting James' execution. This prompted James' attorney to approach the U.S. Supreme Court and request an 11-hour stay of execution.

James’ attorney cited "cognitive decline" and argued that carrying out the execution would violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment, according to WUSF.

"The issues present in the instant case require appellate review that is not truncated by the exigencies of an imminent execution," James’ attorney wrote.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected James' delay of death on Thursday, although it did not fully explain the decision.

What we don't know:

While James' execution proceeded without issue, it remains uncertain how his history of drug use, head injuries, and a 2023 heart attack may have impacted his cognitive abilities. His lawyers argued that his mental state had deteriorated, making his execution cruel and unusual, but courts denied these claims. The broader debate over Florida’s death penalty system and its non-unanimous jury recommendations continues.

Who is Edward James?

The backstory:

James was renting a room in Betty Dick's home in Casselberry, where her granddaughter, Toni Neuner, and three other children were staying on the night of the attack, Sept. 19, 1993.

After drinking up to 24 beers, consuming gin, and taking LSD, he raped and strangled Neuner and stabbed Dick 21 times before fleeing. He stole Dick’s jewelry and car, selling pieces while traveling cross-country until his arrest in Bakersfield, California, weeks later. He later confessed on video.

Booking photo of Edward James via the Florida Department of Corrections

The murders were witnessed by Toni’s older sister Wendi, who James eventually tied up and locked in the bathroom. Toni’s two younger brothers were asleep in the house when the crimes were committed.

Timeline:

The execution of Edward James completes a decades-long saga filled with multiple appeals.

Sept. 19, 1993: James murders Neuner and Dick in Casselberry.
Oct. 6, 1993: Arrested in Bakersfield, California, after fleeing.
1990s-2020s: Multiple appeals filed and denied.
2023: James suffers a heart attack in prison, later cited in failed legal arguments.
March 21, 2024: The U.S. Supreme Court denies James’ final appeal.
March 21, 2024, 8:15 p.m.: James is executed via lethal injection.

Has anyone else in Florida been executed this year?

Dig deeper:

James is the second inmate executed in Florida this year.

James Ford was executed Feb. 13 in the 1997 murders of a couple in Charlotte County. DeSantis has also signed a death warrant for Michael Tanzi, who was convicted in the 2000 murder of a woman in Monroe County. Tanzi is scheduled to be executed April 8.

James' execution was also one of four carried out in the U.S. this week, including lethal injections in Oklahoma and Arizona, and Louisiana's first nitrogen gas execution.

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