STARKE, Fla. — A man in Florida was executed on Thursday for the 1997 murders of a couple at a remote sod farm, marking the state’s first execution of the year. James Dennis Ford, aged 64, was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m. after receiving a lethal injection comprised of three drugs at Florida State Prison. He was found guilty of killing 25-year-old Gregory Malnory and his 26-year-old wife, Kimberly Malnory, during a fishing trip in Charlotte County, where both men were employed.
During the execution, approximately 25 witnesses were present, but Ford did not communicate verbally before the procedure. Nevertheless, he left behind a written note stating, “Hugs Prayer Love!!! God bless everyone.” As the lethal injection commenced, Ford’s chest moved noticeably before ultimately becoming still. A staff member later shook him and called out, “Ford! Ford!” but received no reply.
The tragic events unfolded in front of the couple’s 22-month-old daughter, who was confined to a car seat in the family’s pickup truck. She endured an 18-hour ordeal until workers discovered the crime scene, finding her covered in her mother’s blood and suffering from numerous insect bites, according to investigators. Although the victims’ daughter, Maranda Malnory, was not present for the execution, she expressed her grief in a written statement. She conveyed the profound emptiness caused by losing her parents, saying, “Living my whole life without them left me with a void that I had no idea would hurt so bad.” Maranda acknowledged that while the execution would not restore her parents, it provided her some peace.
Maranda recently shared with a local television station that her memories of her parents are limited to pictures and stories told by others. She remarked, “I told one of my grandmas the other day you grieve the people you knew. But I grieve what could have been.” Ford’s execution was the first carried out in Florida in 2025, following one execution in 2024 and a notable drop from six executions in 2023, a year that coincided with Governor Ron DeSantis’s campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. The governor had not authorized any executions in the three years prior to 2023 but signed Ford’s death warrant in January.
Additionally, on the same evening, another man was executed in Texas for murdering a strip club manager and another individual, which resulted in a widespread lockdown of the state prison system. Court records indicate that Ford shot Gregory Malnory in the head with a .22 caliber rifle, subsequently bludgeoned him with a blunt object, and slashed his throat. Kimberly Malnory was also assaulted before being shot.
Initially, Ford suggested to investigators that the couple was still alive when he departed to hunt, indicating the possibility of another assailant, but prosecutors stressed the substantial evidence implicating him in both killings and the associated sexual assault. A rifle utilized in the murders was later located in a ditch where Ford’s truck had broken down, and DNA evidence linked him to the crime scene during the trial. The jury recommended the death penalty by an 11-1 vote, a decision endorsed by the presiding judge.
The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed Ford’s final appeal without elaboration. His legal team had pursued numerous appeals since his sentencing, all of which were denied. Recently, the Florida Supreme Court refuted claims that Ford’s IQ of approximately 65 categorized him as intellectually disabled, thus rendering him ineligible for execution, as individuals must be under 18 at the time of their crimes to qualify for such exemption.
The court observed that since Ford was 36 during the murders, it was “impossible for him to demonstrate that he falls within the ages of exemption.” The motive behind the killings remains unclear; Ford’s defense contended that he endured childhood abuse and developed alcoholism similar to his father, consuming significant amounts of alcohol daily. Additionally, he grappled with untreated diabetes, which led to episodes of blackouts and erratic conduct. Alongside the murder charges, Ford was also convicted of sexual battery using a firearm and child abuse.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Florida employs a three-drug protocol, involving a sedative, a paralytic agent, and a drug that induces cardiac arrest, for executing inmates.
