Florida man who raped, killed 8-year-old, murdered her grandma asks SCOTUS to block execution: records | FOX 35 Orlando
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Florida man who raped, killed 8-year-old, murdered her grandma asks SCOTUS to block execution: records

By and FOX 35 Digital Staff
Published  March 19, 2025 8:39am EDT
Florida
FOX 35 Orlando

The Brief

    • A Florida man is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his execution, which is scheduled for Thursday.
    • Edward James, 63, faces the death penalty after he killed a woman and raped and killed her 8-year-old granddaughter in 1993 in Seminole County.
    • James' execution would be the state’s second this year, after James Dennis Ford was put to death last month for the 1997 murder of a couple in Charlotte County.

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - A Florida man is facing execution tomorrow for killing a woman and raping and killing her 8-year-old granddaughter in 1993 in Seminole County. Now, he is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his death.

Edward James, 63, was convicted after he pleaded guilty to the murders and charges of child abuse and kidnapping, and pleaded no contest to other charges he said he could not remember.

Will Edward James avoid the death penalty?

What they're saying:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed James’ death warrant last month.

The execution of James by legal injection is set to take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 20, at the Florida State Prison in the City of Starke. 

James’ attorney cited "cognitive decline" and argued that carrying out the execution would violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment, according to WUSF.

"The issues present in the instant case require appellate review that is not truncated by the exigencies of an imminent execution," James’ attorney, Dawn Macready, wrote.

The Florida Supreme Court and a federal appeals court both rejected appeals to delay James' execution.

Booking photo of Edward James via the Florida Department of Corrections

Who is Edward James?

The backstory:

On Sept. 19, 1993, James brutally attacked and killed 8-year-old Toni Neuner, who was staying at the home of her 58-year-old grandmother, Betty Dick. James then also murdered Dick. 

According to court records, James strangled Toni before raping her and then throwing her body across the room. The young girl suffered grievous internal injuries and was strangled to death.

James then went to Dick's bedroom, intending to have sex with her. Instead, he stabbed her more than 20 times with two different knives, records show.

James had been renting a room in Dick’s home.

The murders were witnessed by Toni’s older sister Wendi, who James eventually tied up and locked in the bathroom. Toni’s two younger brothers were asleep in the house when the crimes were committed.

Has anyone else in Florida been executed this year?

Dig deeper:

If James is executed, he would be the state’s second death this year.

Last month, James Dennis Ford was put to death for the 1997 murder of a couple in Charlotte County. 

Another inmate, 48-year-old Michael Tanzi, is scheduled to be executed on April 8 for the 2000 kidnapping and murder of a Miami woman.

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The Source: This story was written based on information gathered from previous reporting and court records, as well as from FOX News.

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