U.S.
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Florida plans to execute a man who was convicted of fatally stabbing his young daughter, his ex-wife and two of her relatives in a jealous rampage 30 years ago.
Jerry Correll's execution, scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, would be the 22nd in five years under Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott — surpassing the 21 executions conducted in eight years under former Gov. Jeb Bush, who is now seeking the Republican presidential nomination.
Correll, 59, is scheduled to die by injection in the execution chamber at the Florida State Prison. If carried out, it will be the state's second execution this year. Johnny Shane Kormondy, convicted of a 1993 rape and murder, was executed in January.
Correll's execution was originally set for February but was delayed as the U.S. Supreme Court weighed a challenge to the use of the sedative midazolam in lethal injections.
In a 5-4 ruling in June in a challenge brought by three Oklahoma death row inmates, the high court cleared the drug for use, finding midazolam did not violate the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Oklahoma, however, has postponed all executions for 2015 after a mix-up in which the state obtained the wrong drug for its lethal injection protocol.
Correll's attorneys subsequently argued in state court that the drug would have a uniquely cruel impact on him because his history of brain damage and drug use.
A state circuit judge ruled against Correll in August, and the Florida Supreme Court earlier this month lifted a stay on his execution.
Correll was sentenced to to death for the 1985 murders of his former wife, Susan Correll, 25; their daughter, Tuesday, 5; his former mother-in-law, Mary Lou Hines, 48; and his former sister-in-law, Marybeth Jones, 29, at their home in the Orlando area.
Investigators said Jerry Correll, who was married to Susan Correll from 1978 to 1983, was angry because she had begun dating again.
Earlier this month another Florida death row inmate, Wayne Doty, requested that he be executed via electric chair, a method that has not been used in the state since 1999.
Al Jazeera and wire services
The electric chair has not been used in Florida since 1999
Florida has halted executions while the Supreme Court decides if use of midazolam is cruel and unusual punishment
With the guidance of medical experts, Al Jazeera looks at what it means for an inmate to be put to death in the US
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