Florida Executes Patrick Hannon For Double Murder 26 Years After Crime
An inmate in Florida who was convicted of slashing one man’s throat and fatally shooting another man six times in the chest in 1991 was executed Wednesday.
Fifty-three-year old Patrick Hannon was pronounced dead at 8:50 p.m. EST, 12 minutes after being given a lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Starke.
Hannon became the third inmate to be executed in Florida since the state resumed carrying out the death penalty in August after a hiatus. The state resumed executions after changes were made to its death penalty sentencing law, which now requires a unanimous jury vote for a death sentence.
The United States Supreme Court had recently found Florida’s old death sentencing law to be unconstitutional as it did not require unanimity of the jury.
However, the new law did not affect Hannon’s case because the state’s high court ruled that those convicted before 2002 were not eligible for relief.
Hannon was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder in the slayings of Snider and Carter in 1991.
According to Fox News, Hannon with two other men went to Snider’s apartment in Tampa, where Hannon's friend, Jim Acker, initially attacked Snider with a knife.
Snider was “eviscerated” by the initial stabbing, following which Hannon sliced his throat, nearly cutting off his head, according to court documents,
Carter, who was Snider’s roommate, fled the violence to an upstairs bedroom, but Hannon dragged him out from under a bed and shot him six times, the jury found. The jury unanimously recommended death sentence for Hannon after finding him guilty of both the murders.
According to the New York Post, during the execution, Hannon was strapped to a gurney and witnesses could watch him from the other side of a glass window.
Before being executed, Hannon apologized for the killings and said, “I hope the execution gives the Carter family some peace. I wish I could have done more to save Robert. I didn’t kill anybody, but I was there.”
He added, “Robby was a good man and a good friend, and I let him down when he needed me most. As far as Brandon Snider, I think that everybody knows what he did to get this ball rolling. I’m sorry things worked out like this the way it did.”
His body moved during the execution procedure. His lips trembled, his chest yanked and his arms, legs and body shook a little, reports said.
Tony Snider, Snider’s half brother, said to the Tampa Bay Times, “I think it should have happened a long time ago. He’s had 26 years more than my brother had.” He added, “I’ll just feel like there’s closure.”
Hannon is the 22nd person to be executed in the U.S. this year. There were 20 people executed in 2016 and 28 in 2015, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, reported AOL News. Texas has executed six people this year and Florida three till now.
According to reports, Hannon’s lawyers had earlier requested a halt to the execution plan before the Florida Supreme Court, but it was denied. Hannon had requested for a new sentencing phase, referring to the changes to Florida’s death sentencing system.
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