Florida inmate executed for grandmother's 'brutal and sadistic' murder
USA TODAY
Melvin Trotter was executed by lethal injection for the 1986 murder of 70-year-old Virgie Langford, a mother of four on the verge of retirement.
Florida has executed its second inmate of the year even as a Supreme Court justice questioned the state's “deeply troubling" record on lethal injections and how it "shrouds its executions in secrecy."
Melvin Trotter, 65, was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday, Feb. 24, for the 1986 murder of 70-year-old Virgie Langford, a mother of four who was on the verge of retirement when she was stabbed to death in the corner grocery store that she owned for five decades. Trotter was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. ET.
It was the fourth execution in the U.S. this year and the second in Florida, which broke a state record last year when it carried out 19 executions.
The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for Trotter's execution on Tuesday by denying his application for a stay, but Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she was "deeply troubled" by the state's record on lethal injections.
She said death row inmates haven't been able to prove their suspicions that the state is using expired drugs and engaging in other questionable practices because the Florida Supreme Court hasn't allowed the inmates access to documents that could back up their claims.
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