The state of Florida has executed a man convicted of killing a college freshman and raping his older sister in 1994.
Loran Cole, 57, received a lethal injection 6pm Thursday for the 30-year-old offense. Hours before, he was joined by his son, Ryan, and a pen pal for a last meal of pizza, ice cream, and M&Ms. To drink, he chose soda, officials overseeing the event said.
Cole was convicted in 1995 of killing of John Edwards, 18, and raping Pam Edwards, 21, in the Ocala National Forest in February 1994. The pair had been on a camping trip when Cole and an accomplice beat up John before slitting his throat.
As he laid dying, Cole raped his sister, before raping her again the next morning. After being tied up, she managed to free herself and flag down a driver.
Afterwards Cole, then 27, and his friend, 20-year-old William Paul, were both convicted of first-degree murder. Cole was sentenced to death and two life sentences. Paul, 50, was sentenced to life, and remains at Cross City Correctional.
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Loran Cole, 57, received a lethal injection 6pm Thursday for the 30-year-old offense
Cole was convicted in 1995 of killing of John Edwards, 18, and Pam Edwards, 21, in the Ocala National Forest in February 1994. John is seen here shortly before he was killed. His sister, who was raped by Cole twice, is not pictured
Cole, who had argued being put to death would ‘needless pain and suffering’ due o already having Parkinson’s disease, was pronounced dead at 6:15 pm, officials said.
He died at Florida State Prison, after the Supreme Court rejected a last-minute request to halt the proceedings following three appeals and sever more motions.
His attorneys had argued his symptoms would ‘make it impossible’ for his execution to be carried out humanely, with jurists writing ‘his involuntary body movements will affect the placement of the intravenous lines necessary to carry out’ the procedure.
Florida AG Ashley Moody, shot back that Cole had waited too long to raise the issue, pointing out how the concerns only emerged in recent weeks.
She also noted how Florida uses restraints during lethal injection to hinder a prisoner’s movement, labeling the claims that his symptoms would make it difficult for executioners to inject the drugs ‘both speculative and legally insufficient.’
The AG also rebuffed requests for leniency relating to his time at the Dozier School for Boys, a boarding school where the suspect underwent ‘torturous treatment’ a teen.
Attorneys previously argued his punishment should be lessened because such abuses, as they ended up contributing to his depraved behavior, they said.
For precedent, they pointed to a Florida law enacted to compensate victims of the school, calling it evidence that the state had already taken some responsibility.
The murder happened at the Ocala National Forest north of Orlando, where Cole and Paul befriended the two college students as they sat around a campfire. The campsite is seen here
The concluded that jurors may have decided differently had they known of his experiences at the school, in 2011 after 111 years of operation.
Over the years, researchers have found the remains of dozens of former students buried there, giving credence to rumors of abuse, beatings, rapes, torture, and even murders being committed by staff for decades.
Despite several investigations, the allegations of cruelty and abuse were not substantiated until then, nearly two decades after the crime in question, and even more since Cole’s stint at the school.
The murder happened at the Ocala National Forest north of Orlando, where Cole and Paul befriended the two college students as they sat around a campfire.
After talking for a bit, the men offered to take the siblings to see a pond, cops said.
After leading them away from the campsite, Cole and Paul jumped the victims and robbed them, investigators found.
The brother, who was a student at Florida State University, was beaten and had his throat slit and left in the forest to bleed out.
The sister, then a 21-year-old senior at Eckerd College, was taken back to the site to be tied up and raped by Cole, according to the record.
Cole (left), then 27, is seen being arrested on February 21, 1994, days after the offense
Appeals in 1996, 2000, and 2003 slowed the carrying out of his sentence for the murder, which came on top of two life sentences. Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant last month
The woman was left tied to a tree overnight and raped again, by Cole, the next day. She eventually managed to free herself, and was rescued by a passing motoriest,
Police would then find her brother’s savaged body, left face down on the ground/
Paul and Cole were both arrested in the days afterwards, both convicted of first-degree murder.
Appeals in 1996, 2000, and 2003 slowed the carrying out of his sentence for the murder, which came on top of two life sentences for rape. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant for Cole last month.
When the procedure began, the convicted killer was said to have looked up at witness in the front row convened to watch justice be carried out.
After three minutes, he began taking deep breaths, and for a brief moment, his body trembled. Five minutes later, the warden shook him and shouted his name. At that point, he appeared unresponsive – no longer breathing. He was then declared dead.
The parents of the victims did not attend, nor did Pam. She has since gone on to become a wife, teacher and professor.
‘Though invisible to others, our daughter bears internal scars that will never go away. She battled years of fear, pain and sorrow,’ a statement from the family read. ‘She is our hero.’
It added ‘We are void of feelings and empathy for Mr. Cole. He placed himself into this arena. He does not deserve mercy.’