Killer Executed Minutes After Court Rejects Plea
A man convicted of killing four women died in Florida’s electric chair Monday afternoon, minutes after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal.
Jeffrey Joseph Daugherty, 33, was the 19th person executed in the oaken chair at Florida State Prison and the 103rd put to death in the nation since the high court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.
A few protesters, both opposing and supporting capital punishment, stood watch outside the prison as Daugherty died just after 5 p.m.
Just before a lower court stay ran out at 5 p.m., the Supreme Court voted 5 to 4 to turn down an emergency request aimed at sparing the life of Daugherty, who prosecutors said committed four murders in 1976 during a three-week spree.
Justices William J. Brennan Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Harry A. Blackmun and John Paul Stevens voted to spare Daugherty.
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