STARKE, Fla. — A Florida man, James Dennis Ford, convicted of murdering a husband and wife during a fishing trip in 1997, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Thursday. This marks Florida’s first execution of 2025.
The execution is set for 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison, following a death warrant signed by the state’s governor in January. This follows a steep decline in executions, with only one execution occurring in 2024, down from six in 2023.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Ford’s final appeal on Wednesday without comment, cementing the execution’s timeline. Ford, now 64 years old, was found guilty of killing Gregory and Kimberly Malnory while their toddler daughter witnessed the horrific events from the family’s pickup truck.
The gruesome murders took place at a remote sod farm in southwest Florida, where Ford and Gregory Malnory worked together. The couple’s young daughter survived an 18-hour ordeal alone in the truck, discovered covered in her mother’s blood and suffering from numerous insect bites.
Court records outlined that Ford attacked Gregory Malnory upon their arrival to the fishing spot, using a .22-caliber rifle to shoot him, followed by severe physical violence. Kimberly Malnory was also brutally assaulted before being shot.
Initially, Ford claimed that the couple was alive when he left them, suggesting another assailant. However, prosecutors presented substantial evidence, including a firearm discovered discarded nearby and DNA linking him to the crime scene. The jury unanimously recommended the death penalty.
Despite numerous appeals challenging his conviction, Ford’s claims—including arguments about his intellectual capacity—were dismissed. The Florida Supreme Court ruled that his age at the time of the crimes disqualified him from being deemed ineligible for execution.
The motives behind the murders remain unclear, with Ford’s defense citing a history of childhood abuse, alcoholism, and untreated health issues.
If executed, Ford’s death would reinstate Florida’s execution rate after a significant drop. The state employs a three-drug protocol for lethal injections, which includes a sedative, a paralytic agent, and a drug to induce cardiac arrest.
