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| Florida inmate executed for '99 slaying |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 04/06/2005 |
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An inmate who pleaded guilty to strangling a woman who gave him a ride home from a bar was executed Tuesday, after firing his attorneys and dropping his legal appeals. Glen Ocha's execution came hours after Gov. Jeb Bush said he thought about delaying it out of respect for Pope John Paul II's death, but decided against it because of sympathy for the victim's family. Bush's office said Ocha, 47, was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. That was a few minutes after an anonymous executioner injected a lethal cocktail of three chemicals to stop Ocha's heart and his breathing. In his final statement, made from his death gurney just before the lethal cocktail was administered, Ocha said, ``This is the punishment that I deserve.'' He also said, ``I would like to say I apologize to Carol Skjerva, the girl that I murdered, and her family and her friends.'' After the statement he closed his eyes, he breathed heavily for about a minute and then there was no further movement. Ocha had waived a jury trial and pleaded guilty to the Oct. 5, 1999, killing of convenience store employee Skjerva, 28, who had given him a ride home from the Kissimmee bar where he worked. After having sexual relations, Ocha said, he choked her three times until his arms got tired. He then hanged Skjerva from a kitchen door and drank a beer while she died. |
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