Starke (Florida, USA), 21 Mar (LaPresse/AP) – The death sentence of a man who killed an eight-year-old girl and her grandmother has been carried out in Florida. Prison officials said Edward James, 63, was pronounced dead at 8.15pm after receiving a lethal injection with three drugs at the Florida State Prison near Starke. James had been sentenced to death after pleading guilty to the 19 September 1993 murders of Toni Neuner, 8, and her grandmother, Betty Dick, 58, committed while under the influence of alcohol and LSD. Three more executions were carried out in the US this week, including the lethal injection on Thursday of an Oklahoma man for the murder of a woman during a home invasion. On Wednesday, Arizona executed a man by injection, while on Tuesday Louisiana used nitrogen gas for the first time, ending a 15-year hiatus in executions. The Supreme Court rejected James' latest appeals on Thursday, paving the way for the second execution of the year in the state.
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