STARKE, Fla. — A Florida man, sentenced for the murders of a couple during a fishing trip, is slated to receive a lethal injection on Thursday evening. This marks Florida’s first execution of the year. The state is set to execute 64-year-old James Dennis Ford at Florida State Prison, following a death warrant issued by Governor Ron DeSantis in January. This execution will be the first in the state following one in 2024 and six the year prior.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Ford’s final appeal on Wednesday without any remarks. In 1997, Ford was found guilty by a jury for the murders of 25-year-old Gregory Malnory and his 26-year-old wife, Kimberly Malnory, during an outing at a secluded sod farm in southwest Florida. Court documents reveal that Ford and Gregory Malnory were coworkers at the farm.
Tragically, the couple’s 22-month-old daughter was an eyewitness to the murders, confined in a car seat in the family’s pickup truck. She was eventually discovered after an 18-hour ordeal, covered in her mother’s blood and plagued by numerous insect bites. Investigators revealed that Ford violently attacked Gregory Malnory upon their arrival at the fishing site, shooting him in the head with a .22-caliber rifle, subsequently beating him with a blunt object, and ultimately slashing his throat. Meanwhile, Kimberly Malnory faced brutal treatment, being beaten, raped, and shot with the same weapon.
Initially, Ford claimed to investigators that the couple was alive when he departed for hunting, hinting that another assailant was involved. However, prosecutors affirmed in court documents that there was “overwhelming proof” linking him directly to the crimes, including the rape. The murder weapon was later located in a ditch near where Ford’s vehicle had run out of gas, and DNA evidence during his trial further established his involvement in the murders. The jury recommended the death penalty with an 11-1 vote, which the presiding judge acknowledged.
On the same day as Ford’s scheduled execution, another death row inmate in Texas is also facing execution after murdering his strip club manager and another individual, inciting significant lockdown measures throughout the state prison system.
Ford’s legal team has submitted multiple appeals over the years these attempts have consistently failed. The Florida Supreme Court recently dismissed claims regarding Ford’s low IQ of approximately 65 at the time of the murders, suggesting he may be classified as intellectually disabled with a mental age of around 14. However, they emphasized that the eligibility for exemption from the death penalty applies only to defendants who were under the age of 18 at the time a crime was committed. Since Ford was 36 during the killings, the court ruled out the possibility of him qualifying for such an exemption.
The motive for the murders remains unclear from the available court documents. Ford’s defense indicated that he had endured childhood abuse and developed alcoholism, reportedly consuming about a case of beer daily in addition to liquor. He also struggled with untreated diabetes, which occasionally caused him to experience blackouts and unpredictable behavior.
In addition to receiving the death penalty, Ford was convicted on charges of sexual battery with a firearm and child abuse. If carried out, his execution will be the first in Florida in 2025. Florida recorded one execution in 2024, a decrease from the six executions in 2023 when Governor DeSantis was running for the Republican presidential nomination. Over the preceding three years, the governor had not approved any executions.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Florida administers a lethal injection protocol that utilizes a combination of three drugs: a sedative, a paralytic agent, and a medication that halts the heart.
