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By Jenna Sundel
News Reporter
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Death row inmate Loran Kenstley Cole was executed at Florida State Prison on Thursday.
The 57-year-old spent years on death row after he was found guilty of murdering 18-year-old Florida State University student John Edwards in 1994.
Cole was killed by lethal injection at the facility in Bradford County and declared dead at 6:15 pm by a prison doctor. The cold-blooded killer did not give any last words.
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Cole is the first death row inmate executed in Florida this year and the 13th executed nationwide.
There were several witnesses, including guards, Corrections Department communications staff members, and journalists who observed Cole's death. For his last meal, he ate pizza, ice cream, M&Ms and soda.
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Who was John Edwards?
Cole introduced himself to John Edwards and his 21-year-old sister Pam Edwards as "Kevin" and offered to help them set up their campsite. Cole left and later returned with another man he falsely claimed was his brother.
The four then took a walk together. During the walk, Cole handcuffed Pam Edwards and pushed her to the ground. John Edwards tried to fight back, but he was also thrown to the ground. The other man, later identified as William Christopher Paul, took Pam Edwards away while Cole slashed John Edward's throat and battered his head.
John Edwards died from his injuries.
Cole and Paul then raped Pam Edwards twice and tied her to a tree. She freed herself by chewing through the rope.
Both Paul and Cole were charged with one count of murder, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of armed robbery and two counts of rape.
In 1995, Paul agreed to plead guilty to the murder, kidnapping and robbery charges to avoid receiving the death penalty. He is serving five consecutive life sentences at Cross City Correctional Institution in Florida.
Cole was found guilty on all seven charges in 1995 and the jury recommended the death sentence.
Circuit Judge William T. Swigert sentenced Cole to death later that year.
On Friday, the Florida Supreme Court rejected appeals submitted by Cole's attorneys to halt the execution. They claim the trauma Cole sustained at the Dozier School for Boys was a contributing factor in what drove him to commit the crime. The former reform school was found to be abusing its attendees, and the state recently passed a law offering compensation to victims.
Facilities in Alabama, Missouri, Georgia, Oklahoma, Utah and Texas have executed inmates this year so far. All of the inmates were men ranging in age from 41 to 69.
On Tuesday, convicted killer Wade Wilson was the latest inmate to be added to Florida's death row. Wilson was sentenced to death for the murders of two women in 2019.
The 274 male Florida death row inmates are housed at Union Correctional Institution in Raiford which has a capacity of 1,486 inmates. The two female death row inmates are housed at Lowell Annex in Lowell.
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