Florida man executed for the killing of an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother

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

Prison officials said Edward James, 63, was pronounced dead at 8:15 p.m. after receiving a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He drew the death penalty after pleading guilty to the Sept. 19, 1993, killings of Toni Neuner, 8, and her grandmother, Betty Dick, 58.

Three other executions were carried out this week in the U.S., including Louisiana, which put a man to death Tuesday using nitrogen gas for the first time as it resumed executions after a 15-year hiatus. Arizona on Wednesday lethally injected a man who had kidnapped and murdered his girlfriend’s ex-husband. Another man in Oklahoma was also put to death Thursday using lethal injection for the fatal shooting of a woman during a home invasion.

James drew the death penalty for the Sept. 19, 1993, killings of 8-year-old Toni Neuner and Betty Dick, 58, the child’s grandmother. James had been renting a room in Dick’s house in Casselberry, where Toni Neuner and three other children were also staying that night.

Edward James mugshot courtesy of the Florida Department of Corrections.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied James’ final appeals earlier in the day, clearing the way for the state’s second execution of the year. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed James’ death warrant earlier this year and another warrant for an execution in early April.

Court records show James drank up to 24 beers at a party, downed some gin and also took LSD before returning to his room at Dick’s house. The girl was raped and strangled to death. The other children were not harmed.

James, who pleaded guilty to the charges, was also found guilty of the rape and of stealing Dick’s jewelry and car after stabbing her 21 times. Court documents show James drove the car across the country, occasionally selling pieces of jewelry until he was arrested on Oct. 6 of that year in Bakersfield, California.

Police obtained a videotaped confession from James, who despite his guilty pleas was sentenced to death upon an 11-1 recommendation by a jury.

James’ lawyers filed several appeals with state and federal courts, all of which were denied. Most recently, the Florida Supreme Court rejected an argument that James’ longtime use of drugs and alcohol, several head injuries and a heart attack in 2023 led to mental decline that would make his execution cruel and unusual punishment.

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The justices, however, agreed with a lower court decision that "James’s cognitive issues do not shield him from execution." The court also rejected an argument from James’ lawyers that the heart attack he suffered in prison led to deprivation of oxygen that affected his brain and should be considered new evidence to halt the execution.

Even if it is new evidence, the court determined, the "defendant cannot establish that such evidence would likely yield a less severe sentence at a new penalty phase."

The nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center said Florida uses a three-drug cocktail for its lethal injection: a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart.

Earlier this year, James Ford was executed for the 1997 killings of a couple in Charlotte County — witnessed by their toddler daughter, who survived. DeSantis also signed a death warrant for the April 8 execution of Michael Tanzi for the 2000 slaying of a woman in the Florida Keys.

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