Florida Executes Norman Mir Grimm Jr.
On Tuesday, Florida conducted its 15th execution of the year under Governor Ron DeSantis, executing Norman Mir Grimm Jr., who had been convicted over 20 years ago of raping and murdering his neighbor.
A spokesperson for DeSantis confirmed that Grimm, 65, was declared dead at 6:14 p.m. after receiving three lethal injections at a state prison near Stark.
According to spokesman Alex Lanfranconi, Grimm declined to make any final statements before the procedure.
He reported that the execution went smoothly, with no complications.
Grimm faced charges of sexual assault and first-degree murder in the case of Cynthia Campbell. Her disappearance in July 1998 was followed by the discovery of her battered body by a fisherman in the ocean near Pensacola Bay Bridge.
Prosecutors indicated that Campbell endured multiple blunt force injuries to her head and face, suggestive of a hammer, alongside 11 stab wounds to her chest.
An autopsy revealed that seven of those stab wounds pierced her heart. Various pieces of physical evidence, including DNA, connected Grimm to Campbell’s murder.
Since the death penalty was reinstated in the U.S. in 1976, Florida set its record for annual executions at eight in 2014. This year, the state has executed more inmates than any other, with Texas and Alabama each conducting five executions.
Earlier this month, Grimm chose not to appeal his conviction, even when given one last opportunity to do so at both the Florida and U.S. Supreme Courts.
The Department of Corrections shared that Grimm had a final meal of fried pork chops, mashed potatoes, and a chocolate milkshake Tuesday morning. Notably, he had no visitors and opted not to meet with a spiritual advisor prior to his execution.
Looking ahead, two more executions are lined up in Florida next month. Brian Fredrick Jennings, 66, is set to be executed on November 13 for the murder and rape of a 6-year-old girl in 1979. Richard Barry Randolph, 63, will follow on November 20 after being convicted in 1988 of raping and fatally injuring a former convenience store manager.
The state’s lethal injection protocol includes sedatives, paralytics, and drugs that cause cardiac arrest, as stated by the Florida Department of Corrections.
