Florida Man Asks Supreme Court to Delay Execution Slated for Later This Week

The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington on July 30, 2024. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

A Florida death row inmate has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to stay his execution, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Loran Cole’s request, submitted on Sunday, argues that his execution would violate his constitutional rights under the Eighth and 14th Amendments. The petition cites significant legal and medical concerns.

Cole, 57, was convicted of kidnapping two adult siblings who were camping in the Ocala National Forest in 1994, raping the sister, and murdering the brother, according to the Associated Press.

Florida Gov.Ron DeSantis signed Cole’s death warrant last month, setting the execution date for Aug. 29 at the Florida State Prison, according to court records.

Cole’s legal team filed the stay request after the Florida Supreme Court denied relief on Aug. 23.

The petition argues that Cole’s execution would cause “needless pain and suffering” due to his medical condition, Parkinson’s disease.

His attorneys challenge the constitutionality of Florida’s lethal injection procedures as applied to him, arguing that his Parkinson’s symptoms, including involuntary body movements, could interfere with the placement of intravenous lines, making it “impossible for Florida to safely and humanely carry out his execution.”

In their filing, Cole’s attorneys argue that Cole would suffer irreparable harm if executed and that Florida’s interest in enforcing judgments should be weighed against Cole’s right to life.

Additionally, the petition requests that the Supreme Court direct the Florida courts to hold an evidentiary hearing.

Cole’s legal team contends that the state courts summarily denied his challenge to the lethal injection procedure without such a hearing, despite Florida Supreme Court precedents that granted evidentiary hearings for similar challenges.

The petition points out that four other Florida inmates under active death warrants were granted evidentiary hearings for their as-applied challenges. It argues that Cole should be afforded the same opportunity.

Witness Role in Murder Conviction Appeal

Cole’s petition also cites his role as a witness in ongoing post-conviction proceedings in Iowa. Cole previously testified as a “jailhouse snitch” in the 1986 first-degree murder conviction of Daniel Brian Harris in Iowa.

His attorneys note that Cole has since recanted his initial testimony multiple times, saying that it was coerced.

Cole’s revised testimony remains critical to the ongoing case, his attorneys allege, and his execution could “dramatically prejudice” Harris’ chances of obtaining justice, according to correspondence from Harris’s attorney included in the filing.

In the filings, Cole’s legal team criticizes the Florida Department of Corrections’ execution protocols, which allow for significant discretion in selecting the individuals responsible for establishing intravenous access, thus raising concerns about their qualifications and the overall safety of the procedure.

Many aspects of these procedures are exempt from public records, which has brought increased scrutiny to the process, particularly as other states have faced challenges in securing the necessary drug cocktails and qualified staff, according to the AP.

Cole’s legal team further argues that denying Cole a hearing violates his 14th Amendment rights to due process and equal protection, as noted in the court documents.

Cole has also claimed that his execution should be blocked due to the abuse he suffered at a state-run reform school where boys were reportedly beaten, raped, and killed. This was part of the broader appeal that the Florida Supreme Court denied on August 23.

His attorneys noted in the filing that DeSantis signed his death warrant a month after the state enacted the Dozier School for Boys and Okeechobee School Victim Compensation Program to compensate abuse victims. They allege the abuse he was reported to have endured as a child occurred when he was at the Dozier school.

Cole’s attorneys argue that with only days remaining before his scheduled execution, there is not enough time for a thorough review of the constitutional issues at stake.

The Supreme Court has not yet responded to Cole’s application for a stay of his execution.