Second Man Executed in Store Owner’s Death
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STARKE, Fla. — A man convicted for murdering a businessman who refused to give him a job was executed in Florida’s electric chair Tuesday.
Ronald J. Straight, 42, had been granted a five-hour stay Tuesday morning by Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. Timothy Palmes, a co-defendant, was executed in 1984 for the murder of James Stone, a Jacksonville furniture store owner, in 1976.
Straight’s execution marked the first time the state has put a second man to death for a single crime since Florida revived capital punishment in 1979. Since then, 16 killers have died in the electric chair in the state.
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