A Florida man convicted of raping a woman and killing her brother in a national forest nearly three decades ago has met his fate.
Loran Cole, 57, is set to be executed by lethal injection on Aug. 28 at Florida State Prison after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his death warrant on Monday.
He had been sentenced to death in 1995, when he was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery and sexual assault for the death of John Edwards and the assault of his sister, Pam.
Cole and his best friend, William Paul, befriended the brothers when they set up camp in the Ocala National Forest on February 18, 1994. according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
Loran Cole, 57, is to be executed by lethal injection on Aug. 28 at Florida State Prison.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Cole’s death warrant on Monday
After dinner, the friends met up with the brothers again and the four decided to walk to a nearby pond around 10:45 p.m. to take pictures of alligators.
Cole then threw Pam, 21, to the ground and handcuffed her.
When John tried to fight back, both Paul and Cole overpowered their brother and threw him to the ground alongside his sister, court records show.
Meanwhile, Paul brought Pam back to the road, while Cole stayed with his 18-year-old brother, who died later that night from a slashed throat and three blows to the head that caused a skull fracture.
He later returned to camp, where he threatened to kill Pam if she did not have sex with him.
Cole had been sentenced to death in 1995, when he was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery and sexual assault for the death of John Edwards and the assault of his sister, Pam
The next day, Cole raped her again and then gagged her and tied her to a tree before Cole and Paul fled in one of their cars.
On Sunday, Pam managed to free herself by biting the rope.
She searched for her brother but couldn’t find him, then flagged down a motorist who prompted her to call 911, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.
“The men who committed these crimes are reprehensible animals,” then-Marion County Sheriff Ken Ergle said after John’s body was found.
DeSantis moved forward with the execution on Monday
Paul, now 51, pleaded guilty to charges of murder, kidnapping and robbery and was sentenced to life in prison.
However, Cole, who was also convicted of two counts of rape, was sentenced to death.
He has tried for years to overturn his conviction, but all of his efforts were denied in either the trial court or the Florida Supreme Court, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
He even attempted to take his case to the US Supreme Court in 2007, but his petition was rejected.
The Florida Supreme Court has now “ordered that all further proceedings in this case be expedited.”
A notice of appeal must be filed by 9 a.m. on August 12 to stay the execution.
If the execution goes ahead, it would be the first in Florida since Michael Zack was executed last October for the 1996 murder of Ravonne Smith.
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