Florida executes man for killing stepdaughter

A Florida man who was convicted of fatally shooting his sleeping wife and then raping and killing his young stepdaughter 22 years ago was put to death Thursday for the child's slaying.

Chadwick Banks, 43, was pronounced dead at 7:27 p.m. EST Thursday after a lethal injection at Florida State Prison, the office of Gov. Rick Scott said.

The execution was delayed by about an hour because of an unsuccessful late appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay, according to Jessica Cary of the Florida Department of Corrections.

Attorneys had challenged the state's lethal injection methods and argued that Banks' post-conviction legal representation was inadequate.

Before the lethal drugs were administered, Banks looked directly at the family of the victims when he delivered his final statement.

“I'm very sorry for the hurt and pain I have caused you all of these years,” Banks said. “Year after year I have tried to come up with a reasonable answer for my actions. But how could such acts be reasonable?”

Florida uses a three-drug mixture to execute prisoners: midazolam hydrochloride, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride. The drugs are administered intravenously and are intended to first induce unconsciousness, then paralysis and finally cardiac arrest.

Midazolam has figured in a botched execution in Oklahoma, and in lengthy attempts to execute an Ohio inmate in January and an Arizona prisoner in July. There were no reports of problems during the execution of Banks.

Authorities said Banks was drinking and playing pool at a bar before going home around 3 a.m. the night of the slayings. Banks shot his wife, Cassandra Banks, point-blank in the head and then raped and shot his stepdaughter, 10-year-old Melody Cooper, according to authorities.

Banks, who was 21 at the time of the killings, received a life sentence for his wife's murder, and a jury recommended the death penalty for the stepdaughter's slaying.

The mother and grandmother of the two victims, Annette Black, said after the execution that she appreciated the apology and said she hoped Banks’ case would serve as a lesson to people before they make bad decisions while using alcohol or drugs.

This was the 20th execution of Scott's first term in office, one fewer than Jeb Bush presided over in two terms as governor, according to the Department of Corrections website. Scott was re-elected this month to his second four-year term.

Banks' death also marked the 89th execution in Florida since the death penalty was reinstated in the United States in 1976.

Wire services