A Florida man convicted of murdering a husband and wife during a fishing trip is scheduled to be executed on Thursday. James Dennis Ford, 64, will receive a lethal injection at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison. Governor Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant in January, making this Florida’s first execution of 2025. Ford had filed a final appeal, but the U.S. Supreme Court denied it without comment on Wednesday.
The Tragic Crime
Ford was found guilty of murdering 25-year-old Gregory Malnory and his 26-year-old wife, Kimberly, in 1997. The couple had gone on a fishing trip to a remote sod farm in Charlotte County, Florida, where Gregory worked with Ford. Their 22-month-old daughter was in the family’s pickup truck during the attack. She was found alive 18 hours later, covered in her mother’s blood, with multiple mosquito and insect bites.
According to investigators, Ford first shot Gregory in the head with a .22-caliber rifle, then brutally beat him with a heavy instrument and slit his throat. Kimberly was beaten, raped, and shot with the same rifle. Ford initially claimed that the couple was alive when he left to go hunting, but prosecutors provided strong evidence linking him to the murders.
Overwhelming Evidence
Authorities later discovered the rifle in a ditch near where Ford’s truck had run out of gas. DNA evidence also connected him to both crimes. The jury overwhelmingly voted 11-1 in favor of the death penalty, and the judge agreed. Ford was also convicted of sexual battery with a firearm and child abuse.
Legal Battles and Execution Details
Ford’s lawyers have tried several times to overturn his sentence. They argued that he had an IQ of about 65 at the time of the crime, putting him in the range of intellectual disability. However, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that only those under 18 at the time of their crime could be exempt from the death penalty. Since Ford was 36, he did not qualify.
His defense also mentioned that he had a troubled past, including childhood abuse, alcoholism, and untreated diabetes, which sometimes caused blackouts. However, these claims did not change the outcome of his case.
Florida uses a three-drug cocktail for lethal injections, consisting of a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug that stops the heart. If executed as planned, Ford will be the first person put to death in Florida in 2025.
