A Florida man convicted of raping and killing his next-door neighbor was executed Tuesday evening, the state’s 15th execution this year.
Florida has executed more people than any other state this year, followed by Texas and Alabama with five each.
Norman Mearle Grim Jr., 65, died by lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke at 6:14 p.m., according to the state’s Department of Corrections. He was convicted of sexual battery and first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the 1998 killing of his neighbor, Cynthia Campbell.
Campbell was reported missing in 1998, and her battered body was later found off the Pensacola Bay Bridge by a fisherman. Prosecutors said Campbell had suffered multiple blunt-force injuries to her face and head that were consistent with being struck by a hammer, as well has 11 stab wounds in the chest. An autopsy revealed seven of the stab wounds penetrated her heart. Physical evidence, including DNA tied Grim to her killing and he was convicted in December 2000 and sentenced to death.
After a death warrant is signed and an execution date is set, inmates have a last chance to appeal to the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. But Grim waived any appeals during a hearing earlier this month.
On Tuesday, Grim awoke at 6 a.m. and later had a meal of fried pork chops and mashed potatoes with a chocolate milkshake and pie, according to Department of Corrections spokesman Ted Veerman. The spokesman said Grim did not meet with a spiritual adviser or any visitors ahead of his scheduled evening execution.
A total of 40 men have died by court-ordered execution so far this year in the U.S., and at least 18 other people are scheduled to be put to death during the remainder of 2025 and next year.
Two more executions are planned for next month in Florida under death warrants signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Bryan Fredrick Jennings, 66, is scheduled for Florida’s 16th execution on Nov. 13. He was convicted of raping and killing a 6-year-old girl in 1979 after entering through a window and abducting her from her central Florida home.
Richard Barry Randolph, 63, is set for Florida’s 17th execution on Nov. 20. He was convicted of the 1988 rape and fatal beating of his former manager at a Florida convenience store. Since the U.S. Supreme Court restored the death penalty in 1976, the highest execution tally on record for the state had been eight people in 2014.
Florida’s lethal injections are carried out with a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the state Department of Corrections.
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