STARKE, Fla. — The U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay of execution Wednesday for the man convicted of raping and strangling a young girl 22 years ago near Orlando.
Elmer Carroll, 56, was put to death by lethal injection at 6:01 p.m. Wednesday, and the state pronounced him dead at 6:12 p.m.
A reporter who witnessed the execution said Carroll never looked at 10-year-old Christine McGowan's mother, Julie, and other relatives in the front row as they embraced each other.
They had waited 23 years to get closure and justice.
The petition was the final attempt to stop Carroll's execution at Florida State Prison in Starke. His lawyers had argued he should have been considered mentally ill at the time of the murder.
In November 1990, Carroll was indicted on a count of first-degree murder and sexual battery for the rape and murder of McGowan.
Judge Belvin Perry sentenced Carroll to death and state attorney Jeff Ashton won the conviction and death sentence recommendation.
Perry called the rape and strangulation "savage and barbaric."
Ashton was at the prison to witness the execution. When he spoke with Channel 9's Kathi Belich Wednesday afternoon, he called Carroll "evil."
"I was there the day it happened, at the house and at the medical examiner's facility. For me it's sort of a completion. I always thought that if I was going to ask for the (death) penalty I should be able to stand and watch it happen," said Ashton.
Carroll threatened to "rise from the grave" and take vengeance on Ashton.
The girl Carroll had killed lived with her family next door to a halfway house for homeless men where Carroll was staying in Apopka.
Carroll, who had been imprisoned twice for indecent assault on a child, had told one of his housemates that the girl was "cute, sweet and liked to watch him make boats," according to witness testimony at his trial.
Christine's stepfather found the girl dead in her bedroom and his truck was missing. The truck was found a short time later and an officer came upon Carroll -- who had blood on his sweatshirt and genitals, while traces of his semen, saliva and pubic hair were found on Christine, according to court records.
When Carroll was convicted 20 years ago, the family of Christine McGowan told Channel 9 that they wouldn't really get justice until they saw the switch flipped, referring to the electric chair. They were at the prison and watched Carroll die.
Carroll's lawyers employed the insanity defense at his trial, during which they and prosecutors presented conflicting testimony from psychiatrists about Carroll's mental competency. During his two decades on death row, Carroll's lawyers argued that he was too mentally ill to stand trial or be subjected to the death penalty.
The Florida Department of Corrections said Carroll ate all of his last meal, which, they said, usually isn't the case. It was eggs and bacon, fruit, biscuits, and canned milk.
Ann Howard of the Florida Department of Corrections said Carroll's demeanor had been somber Wednesday.
Carroll did not want to make a final statement before the lethal injection was administered, DOC said.
It did say Carroll accepted a sedative earlier in the day to calm him before the lethal injection.
Ashton did not want to talk after the execution.
McGowan's mother wanted privacy Wednesday night but gave a written statement: "Thank you to all that have worked so hard, and justice for all, namely, Christine McGowan - Rest in Peace."