Florida execution: Robert Hendrix, convicted of murdering 2, executed Weds.
Florida聽executed a man on Wednesday who was convicted of murdering two relatives to prevent one of them from testifying against him in a burglary trial.
Robert聽Hendrix聽was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m. at聽Florida聽State Prison in Starke, shortly after the lethal injection procedure began. He made no final statement.
Hendrix聽was convicted of the 1990 murders of Elmer and Michelle Scott at their Lake County home.
Prosecutors said聽Hendrix聽killed the couple because Elmer Scott intended to testify against him. But聽Hendrix's聽attorney said no forensic evidence links his client to the murders, and the witnesses against him were unreliable.
Hendrix聽was the fourth person executed in聽Florida聽this year and the 16th since Gov. Rick Scott took office in 2011.
The victims' daughter, Rachel Scott, was only 5 months old when her parents were killed. She was home in her crib but was not harmed, and said she hopes her parents are remembered for who they were as people.
"I plan on keeping them alive in my heart and suggest everyone else do the same. I will always continue to tell their story," she said.
Elmer Scott's sister, Lisa Hunt, said the execution brought a sense of relief. Lisa is also a cousin of聽Hendrix.
"I feel today, as we watched my cousin die, justice, only because he is finally dead," she said.
Evidence in the case showed聽Hendrix聽shot and stabbed Scott in his trailer home the night before聽Hendrix's聽trial in the armed burglary case was to begin in August 1990.聽Hendrix聽then murdered Scott's wife, Michelle.
Scott had already made a plea deal with prosecutors in the armed burglary case in which he and聽Hendrix聽broke into a house but only Scott was caught. His cooperation led investigators to arrest聽Hendrix. In the weeks leading up to his trial, prosecutors say,聽Hendrix聽told friends he would kill Scott rather than return to prison
Prosecutors say that on the night of the murders,聽Hendrix's聽live-in girlfriend 鈥� Denise Turbyville 鈥� drove him from Orange County, where they lived, to the Scotts' trailer in neighboring Lake County and dropped him off.
Michelle Scott welcomed聽Hendrix聽into the trailer, and told him Elmer Scott was in the bathroom shaving and would be out shortly. When Elmer Scott came out,聽Hendrix聽asked to use the bathroom. When he left the bathroom,聽Hendrix聽fired shots at Elmer Scott and then grabbed a knife and attacked Michelle Scott, according to prosecutors.
Turbyville pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 75 years in prison. Another witness against聽Hendrix, Roger LaForce, was a confidential informant for a narcotics task force and stood to gain a lighter sentence for his assistance,聽Hendrix's聽attorneys say.
Hendrix聽attorney Harry Brody also said the presiding judge had a conflict of interest,聽Hendrix's聽trial lawyer was ineffective at presenting mitigating circumstances during sentencing and that聽Hendrix聽was shackled during his trial, leading jurors to a biased impression that he was dangerous.
During sentencing,聽Hendrix's聽attorneys failed to call witnesses who could have testified that聽Hendrix聽was regularly beaten by his father and had a serious drug addiction, factors that could explain his unbalanced mental state, according to court papers filed by聽Hendrix.
Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied聽Hendrix's聽last-minute request for a stay without comment. He ate a last meal of pork chops, sausage gravy and biscuits, German chocolate cake and a soft drink, state corrections officials said.
