Loran Cole Set for Execution in Florida

Loran Cole, 57, is scheduled for execution in Florida on Thursday after being convicted of murdering an 18-year-old college student and raping his sister during a camping trip in 1994. He was sentenced to death in 1995 and has since appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming that his Parkinson's disease could lead to significant pain during lethal injection, suggesting alternative execution methods like lethal gas or firing squad. Cole's lawyers also argue that he suffers from mental illness and brain damage, highlighting his abusive past in a state-run reform school. If carried out, this execution will mark Florida's first since October 2022. There have been 12 executions in the U.S. this year, and 23 states have abolished the death penalty. Governor Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant for Cole last month, with an accomplice, William Paul, serving a life sentence for his role in the crime.