STARKE, Fla. (AP) - The Latest on Florida execution (all times local):
9:50 p.m.
A man convicted of fatally beating and stabbing a South Florida woman 26 years ago during a burglary has been executed.
Authorities say 55-year-old Jose Antonio Jimenez was pronounced dead at 9:48 p.m. Thursday after a lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Starke.
Jimenez was convicted of the October 1992 killing of 63-year-old Phyllis Minas in her North Miami apartment.
Authorities say Jimenez was burglarizing Minas’ apartment when she came home and surprised him. Investigators said Minas, a longtime employee of the Miami-Dade Court Clerk’s office, was stabbed eight times.
Authorities say Jimenez is the 28th inmate executed in Florida since Gov. Rick Scott took office in 2011. That’s the most of any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
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8:55 p.m.
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to halt the execution of a Florida man convicted in a woman’s 1992 stabbing death.
The justices denied a stay request without comment Thursday night for 55-year-old Jose Antonio Jimenez, several hours past his scheduled 6 p.m. execution. The decision cleared the way for the lethal injection to be carried out at Florida State Prison in Starke.
Jimenez was convicted of the beating and stabbing death of 63-year-old Phyllis Minas in her North Miami apartment in October 1992.
According to corrections officials, there have been 27 executions since Scott took office in 2011, and Jimenez’s would be the 28th if carried out.
That’s the most of any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
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6:10 p.m.
The planned execution of a Florida man convicted in a woman’s 1992 stabbing death awaits a final ruling on a stay request by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The scheduled 6 p.m. execution of 55-year-old Jose Antonio Jimenez on Thursday at Florida State Prison in Starke was at least temporarily delayed pending a decision by the high court.
Jimenez was convicted of the beating and stabbing death of 63-year-old Phyllis Minas in her North Miami apartment in October 1992.
According to corrections officials, there have been 27 executions since Scott took office in 2011, and Jimenez’s would be the 28th if carried out.
That’s the most of any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
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4:15 p.m.
A Florida man set for execution was described by prison officials as calm and in good spirits hours before he was scheduled to be put to death.
The statement says 55-year-old Jose Antonio Jimenez was visited Thursday by a spiritual adviser and ate a last meal that included a Cuban sandwich, eggs, French fries and ice cream.
Barring a last-minute stay, Jimenez was scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. Thursday for the beating and stabbing death of 63-year-old Phyllis Minas in her North Miami apartment in October 1992.
According to corrections officials, there have been 27 executions since Scott took office in 2011, and Jimenez’s would be the 28th if carried out.
That’s the most of any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
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1 a.m.
A man who was convicted of beating and stabbing a woman to death in Miami-Dade County 26 years ago is scheduled to die by lethal injection at the Florida State Prison.
Unless there is a stay, 55-year-old Jose Antonio Jimenez will be executed Thursday evening. He received the death sentence for the killing of 63-year-old Phyllis Minas in her North Miami apartment in October 1992.
In July, Gov. Rick Scott signed the death warrant and scheduled the execution for August.
But the Supreme Court issued a stay. In October, the court lifted the stay.
According to corrections officials, there have been 27 executions since Scott took office in 2011, and Jimenez will be the 28th if carried out.
That’s the most of any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
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