Fri Feb 14 01:34:58 UTC 2025: ## Florida Executes Man Convicted of Double Murder Witnessed by Toddler
**TALLAHASSEE, FL – February 14, 2025** – James Dennis Ford, 64, was executed Thursday evening at Florida State Prison, marking the state’s first execution of 2025. Ford was convicted of the 1997 murders of Gregory and Kimberly Malnory, 25 and 26 respectively, at a Charlotte County sod farm. Their 22-month-old daughter witnessed the brutal attack, enduring an 18-hour ordeal before being discovered covered in her mother’s blood.
Ford, who showed no remorse during the execution, was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m. following a three-drug injection. He had been convicted of shooting Gregory Malnory, beating him with a blunt instrument, and slitting his throat. Kimberly Malnory was beaten, raped, and then shot. Ford’s initial claim that he left the couple alive was contradicted by overwhelming evidence, including DNA linking him to the crime scene. Despite numerous appeals, including arguments based on his low IQ, the Florida Supreme Court upheld his death sentence.
The victim’s daughter, Maranda Malnory, issued a statement expressing the pain of losing her parents but finding a measure of peace in the execution. She stated that while it wouldn’t bring them back, it provided closure.
Ford’s execution follows a decline in the number of executions in Florida, with only one in 2024 compared to six in 2023. Governor Ron DeSantis, who had previously not signed off on any executions for three years, signed Ford’s death warrant in January. The execution occurred on the same day another execution was scheduled in Texas.
First Piper 