Leading up to the execution of Loran Cole

Loran Cole, now 57, is scheduled for execution by lethal injection on Aug. 29 for the murder of John Edwards, and the rape of his sister in 1994.

Editor’s Note: For follow up on the U.S. Supreme Court decision, click this link.

Loran Cole is scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Florida State Prison for his role in the brutal 1994 kidnapping of a brother and sister camping in the Ocala National Forest and the subsequent murder of the brother and sexual assault of the sister.

Cole is expected to be executed by lethal injection, a method of execution that his legal counsel has objected to because Cole has Parkinson’s disease. They claim his involuntary movements could affect the placement of the needle, creating unnecessary suffering.

Cole’s team has filed a legal petition requesting the U.S. Supreme Court stay the execution so that an evidentiary hearing can be held on why execution by lethal injection would not be appropriate. The petition is before Justice Clarence Thomas, who has jurisdiction over the 11^th Circuit, which includes Florida.

An attorney on Cole’s team, Gerod J. Hooper, chief assistant at the Capital Collateral Regional Council, explained to the “Gazette” that the pending petition will not stay the execution but they hoped Thomas would decide the question early Thursday.

This is the “praying stage,” Hooper said.

Cole, 57, had a visit on Wednesday from his son who lives out of state, Hooper said. Cole’s attorney Ali Andrew Shakoor had also driven to Tallahassee to meet with Cole.

The “Gazette” will be among the media observers for the execution because the crime was committed in the paper’s coverage region. According to the lethal injection protocols on the Florida Department of Corrections website, here is the schedule for the day of execution:

The prison’s food service director or their designee will personally prepare and serve Cole his last meal. His request must cost no more than $40 and be available at the institution. Hooper said Cole has requested deep-dish pizza as his last meal.

Cole will be taken to shower and then returned to his cell.

The Execution Team will include two executioners chosen by the warden who “are capable of performing the designated functions to carry out the execution.” One will be the primary and the other the secondary executioner. They will have taken steps to ensure the equipment necessary for the execution is in working order.

The executioner is “a private citizen who is paid $150 per execution. State law allows for his or her identity to remain anonymous.”

The execution team in the presence of one or more team members and an independent observer from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will prepare the lethal injection chemical syringes of Etomidate; Rocuronium bromide; Potassium acetate; and saline solution.

At 5 p.m., the authorized media witnesses will be cleared by security and directed to wait in the prison’s visiting park until they are escorted into the witness room of the execution chamber by staff.

The execution team, 30 minutes before the scheduled execution, will establish telephone communication with the Office of the Governor. They’ll keep the phone line open during the entire execution procedure.

When the execution team determines there will be no delay, the two executioners are escorted into the execution room where they will remain until the execution process is complete.

Cole will be moved from his death watch cell to the execution chamber where the “team warden will explain the lethal injection preparation procedure to Cole” and “ensure provision of any medical assistance or care deemed appropriate.” Cole will be offered hydroxyzine to ease anxiety.

The team warden will then read the Warrant of Execution to the inmate, or the inmate can waive the reading.

Wrist restraints will then be put on Cole, and he will be positioned on the execution gurney in the execution chamber and restrained with straps. Heart monitors will be connected to Cole’s chest and an intravenous line to each of his arms. If peripheral veins cannot be accessed, a team member will perform a central venous line placement, wherein the vein is exposed surgically.

Official witnesses and authorized media will be secured in the witness room of the chamber 15 minutes before the execution.

Paul W. Walker, Deputy Communications Director for the DOC, wrote the media observers that they would not be allowed to bring into the prison cellphones, laptops, smartwatches, cameras or recording devices. “You can bring in an ID, car keys, and five single-dollar bills for the vending machines. Each media member will be given two pencils and a notepad at this time,’’ he wrote.

If the execution is delayed, the media witnesses will not be “permitted to leave the institution until a determination has been made, the execution proceeds, or the event is stopped. There have been instances where media attendees have waited several hours. Therefore, we recommend you be prepared to be without your phone or other belongings for this period. If you have any questions about this process, please don’t hesitate to call.”

Walker told the “Gazette” that if there is nothing from the court or governor’s office delaying the procedure, that the time of death typically is called less than 20 minutes after the scheduled execution.

Cole is being executed for the death of John Edwards and the rape, kidnapping and assault of his sister at Hopkins Prairie in the Ocala National Forest on Feb. 18, 1994. The brother, 18 and sister, 21, met there for a camping trip from their respective colleges. The “Gazette” is not identifying the sister in accordance with its policy not to reveal the names of sexual assault victims

Cole, then 27 and another man, William Paul, 20, walked into the pair’s campsite and befriended Edwards, according to court records. Paul then attacked Edwards’ sister and when Edwards attempted to defend her he was overpowered and murdered by Cole. For the next two days, Edwards’ sister was raped and beaten. When Cole and Paul left the scene, they left the woman tied to a tree. She eventually managed to free herself and, unable to find her brother, went to find someone to take her to call 911.

Cole and Paul were convicted in 1995 of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and other charges related to the attack on the siblings. Paul received a life sentence, while Cole was sentenced to death.

Cole’s attorneys have previously argued that the abuse Cole endured as child and then as a 17-year-old at the now-infamous Dozier School for Boys in 1984 was key evidence that was not presented to the jury as a reason to mitigate his sentence.

The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a statement imploring Gov. Ron DeSantis to stay the execution and commute Cole’s sentence to life without the possibility of parole.

“Mr. Cole himself was beaten, raped and tormented at Dozier,” said Michael Sheedy, FCCB executive director, in an Aug. 14 letter to DeSantis. “He witnessed torture and daily beatings of other students. He was once forced to clean up the remains of another student who died by suicide after jumping off a building. He had his legs broken after trying to escape.

“Mr. Cole’s jury never heard about the physical and mental abuse he endured at the hands of officers at Dozier,” according to the letter.

Sheedy also noted, “Never having received mental health and trauma treatment until his arrival on death row in his late 20s, Mr. Cole, at age 57, is not the same person who committed the grave crimes for which he was convicted.”