Honk News (Tallahassee, FL) – A Florida Death Row inmate, convicted of raping and murdering an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother, is seeking a U.S. Supreme Court intervention to stop his scheduled execution on Thursday.
Edward James, now 63, admitted guilt in the 1993 Seminole County killings of 58-year-old Betty Dick and 8-year-old Toni Neuner. Court records indicate he was a tenant in Dick’s home at the time.
James sexually assaulted Toni before strangling her to death, also throwing her across the room during the attack, which resulted in internal injuries. He then assaulted Dick, stabbing her more than 20 times in the back with two knives, including a blue-handled one found lodged in her hair by responding officers.
The horrific acts were witnessed by Toni’s older sister, Wendi, whom James later bound and confined in the bathroom. Toni’s two younger brothers remained asleep in the house during the ordeal, per court documents.
After over 30 years on Death Row at Florida State Prison, James faces lethal injection this Thursday. Despite appeals, the Florida Supreme Court and federal courts have rejected efforts to postpone the execution. His attorneys have pointed to his significant “cognitive decline,” arguing that executing him in his present condition might constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis authorized James’ execution by signing his death warrant on February 1.