TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Governor Charlie Crist set an execution date Monday for a Central Florida child killer. Mark Dean Schwab is now scheduled to die July 1 after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted his stay of execution.

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STATE LETTER: State Annouces Execution Date For Child Killer (PDF)
DEATH WARRANT: Read Schwab Death Warrant Issued By State

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In 1991, Schwab kidnapped, raped and murdered Junny Rios Martinez in Brevard County. The young victim's family was out Monday trying to maintain a sense of normalcy, but prosecutors say with the Supreme Court now ruling, the case may be closer to an end than it's ever been before.

Junny's family saw a glimmer of justice last November as they held a prayer circle around a tree planted after his murder. It was only a few hours later, the Supreme Court intervened and the execution was halted. Now the Supreme Court has stepped out of the way.

"The state is now free to reschedule the execution and go forward," said Assistant State Attorney Wayne Holmes.

The family and prosecutors have been waiting 16 years for the death sentence to be carried out. Schwab was convicted in 1992 after prosecutors recounted how he plotted to kidnap, rape and murder the boy.

Schwab spotted Junny in a newspaper photograph, used a photographer's identity to befriend him and his family and lied to school staff to get Junny to meet him after school. Junny was never seen alive again. His body was found stuffed into a foot locker and hidden in the woods in Canaveral Groves.

Since his conviction, Schwab's defense attorneys have tried repeatedly to have the death sentence overturned. Prosecutors believe there is little chance of that happening now that the Supreme Court has weighed in.

"They may be able to file something, but it's very unlikely it would have any merits, because anything that even came close to have any merit would have been brought up the last time," Holmes said.

Junny's parents have described the wait as a roller coaster ride and said they don't want to talk about the case again until the execution takes place.

The stay on lethal injections started because of a botched execution in Florida. In 2006, it took Angel Diaz twice as long as usual to die. After that, the U.S. Supreme Court had to decide if lethal injection was cruel and unusual punishment. Earlier this year, the justices decided it was not.