Florida executes one of its oldest prisoners in state’s 10th lethal injection this year

A gurney used for lethal injections sits in Georgia. Photograph: Ben Gray/AP View image in fullscreen A gurney used for lethal injections sits in Georgia. Photograph: Ben Gray/AP Florida executes one of its oldest prisoners in state’s 10th lethal injection this year Man who was 74 was one of three older prisoners scheduled for execution within the span of a month Florida put to death one of its oldest prisoners in its state history on Tuesday, a 74-year-old convicted murderer who was one of three older prisoners scheduled for execution within the span of a month in the nation’s busiest death penalty state. Dennis Sochor was pronounced dead at 6.16pm after a three-drug injection at Florida state prison near Starke. He was convicted of killing Patricia Gifford on 1 January 1982, just hours after meeting the 18-year-old woman at a New Year’s Eve party. Sochor was strapped to a gurney with an IV in his arm when the curtain to the death chamber went up at the 6pm execution time. Asked by the warden if he had any last words, Sochor said he did. Death by firing squad: archaic method on the rise in US as Idaho opens new execution chamber Read more He apologized several times to the Gifford family, saying he was “deeply sorry”, and thanked his own loved ones for their support over the years. He commended his spirit to Jesus Christ shortly before the drugs began to flow at 6.03pm. Sochor underwent about a minute of heavy breathing and then some seconds of sputtering. After two minutes in which Sochor appeared to go still, the warden looked into his eyes, shook his shoulders and yelled his name without getting a response. A medic was summoned at 6.14pm, soon after pronouncing Sochor dead. Another 74-year-old prisoner, just a week younger than Sochor at the time of execution, was put to death last month. And later this month, the state is preparing to execute an 80-year-old, the state’s first octogenarian facing a lethal injection. The execution plans highlight the ageing death row population in the US and the busy death chamber in Florida, which has now carried out 10 of the 16 executions conducted in the nation this year – more than every other state combined. Marilyn Gifford, Patricia’s sister, said after witnessing the execution that Sochor’s death brings some closure to the family, but it’s bittersweet since her body has never been found. She encouraged anyone with information that could lead to the remains to contact authorities. “He had 45 years to return Patty’s remains to us, but he cruelly chose not to,” Gifford said, reading from a statement. “We never got a chance to lay her to rest in God’s arms. Without closure, every happy memory of Patty is immediately crushed by the tragedy of her murder.” Gifford also pointed out that Sochor got to live more than twice as long on death row as her sister lived her entire life. “Tonight’s execution was appropriate because Dennis Sochor was a lifelong brutal and sadistic man,” she said. According to court reco