STARKE, Fla. – Florida on Tuesday carried out its first execution since a botched lethal injection procedure prompted a moratorium and state investigation.
Gov. Charlie Crist's office said Mark Dean Schwab was put to death by lethal injection at 6:15 p.m. Schwab was convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing 11-year-old boy.
The execution was the initial test of Florida's new lethal injection procedure, which was instituted after Angel Diaz died in December 2006. Needles to inject the deadly chemicals into Diaz missed their mark and he suffered burns and extreme pain.
Schwab, 39, unsuccessfully challenged Florida's new execution procedure, claiming it could also cause pain and suffering. He was executed for the 1991 death of Junny Rios-Martinez of Cocoa.
Outside the prison where the execution took place, the boy's family clapped and cheered when they heard the news that Schwab had died.
More than a dozen family members wore white T-shirts with his picture on the front and with the words "JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED" across the back. Another man carried a sign that read "ROT IN HELL SCHWAB."
About 50 death penalty opponents held a brief prayer vigil, then quietly stood by about 75 yards from the family members.
Schwab was executed at the state's death chamber in Starke, which is about 40 miles southwest of Jacksonville.
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