Florida executes Louis Gaskin

A man on death row in Florida for the 1989 killing of a couple was executed Wednesday evening, the Florida Department of Corrections said in a news release.

Louis Gaskin was sentenced to death in 1990 for the fatal shooting of Robert Sturmfels, 56, and Georgette Sturmfels, 55, on December 20,1989, according to court documents.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Gaskin’s death warrant March 13, according to the documents, and the state Supreme Court rejected appeals filed by Gaskin since the warrant was signed. The latest denial for a stay of execution was issued by a judge on Tuesday, court documents show.

Jurors recommended the death sentence in a 8-4 vote, which was accepted by the judge, according to court records. Gaskin was also convicted of armed robbery, burglary and an attempted murder committed the same night, according to court documents.

Louis Bernard Gaskin, 56, was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. after receiving a lethal injection, the governor’s office said.

Gaskin woke up at 4:45 a.m. Wednesday and had his last meal at 9:45 a.m., Department of Corrections spokesperson Kayla McLaughlin Smith said during a news conference. The meal included BBQ pork ribs, pork and turkey neck, Buffalo wings, shrimp fried rice, french fries and water.

Gaskin was visited by his sister Wednesday, but he did not meet with a spiritual adviser, McLaughlin Smith said. No relatives of the victims had arranged to be in the witness room during the execution, which was scheduled for 6 p.m. and started without delay.

When asked if he had any final statement, Gaskin said: “Justice is not about the crime. It’s not about the criminal. It’s about the law.”

He then referred to the legal proceedings surrounding his case and the appeals and finished his statement saying, “Look at my case.”

Gaskin began receiving the lethal cocktail of drugs at 6:02 p.m., causing him to breathe heavily as his chest rose and fell under a white sheet. The prison’s warden went to check on whether Gaskin was still conscious at 6:05 p.m. He didn’t respond. Gaskin’s breathing appeared to stop at 6:07 p.m. A doctor entered the death chamber at 6:14 p.m. to examine Gaskin and declared him dead a minute later.

Gaskin’s execution comes six weeks after Donald Dillbeck, 59, was put to death for the 1990 murder of Faye Vann, 44, in Tallahassee, and three weeks before the scheduled execution of Darryl B. Barwick for slaying Rebecca Wendt, 24, in 1986 in Panama City, according to CNN affiliate WTXL.

Dillbeck, who died via a lethal injection in February, was the 100th person to be executed by the state of Florida since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, according to the department.

Before Gaskin’s execution, there were 298 people on death row in the state, according to the corrections department website.

— Gaskin becomes the 3rd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Florida and the 101st overall since the state resumed executions on May 25, 1979.

— Gaskin becomes the 10th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1,568th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.

Source: CNN, The Associated Press, Staff; Rick Halperin, April 12, 2023

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