ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida is set to execute its first death row inmate since January.
Jerry Correll is set to be executed Thursday for the fatal stabbings of his young daughter, his ex-wife, her mother and her sister 30 years ago in Orlando.
Correll's execution had been scheduled for last February, but it was delayed as attorneys litigated whether a sedative used in Florida's executions was constitutional.
The sedative, midazolam, had been used in executions in Oklahoma and other states where inmates gasped and made noises before dying.
Raw: Belvin Perry talks about Orlando man's upcoming execution (warning: graphic)
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last summer that midazolam was constitutional in a case from Oklahoma.
In Florida, Correll's attorneys had argued that his history of alcoholism would render the drug ineffective in knocking him out. But Florida courts dismissed those arguments.
Former Chief Judge Belvin Perry, WFTV's legal analyst, was a young prosecutor at the time of Correll’s trial.
“I've seen some pretty grisly homicides, but this has to be up to the top of the list,” he said.
Perry showed jurors photos of a blood-soaked home after Correll’s violent rampage over his ex-wife’s new boyfriend.
“Five-year-old girl stabbed in excess of 15 times. The others were stabbed in excess of 20 times. It was like a bloodbath,” Perry said.
The Channel 9 reporter at the time of the trial is now a Winter Park financial adviser in Winter Park. He said the Conway-area massacre is something he’ll never forget.
“It’s hard for me to talk about. This happened three decades ago. The reality of what happened there was so brutal and so gruesome and so horrible, that it's really, really difficult to discuss,” said Scott Peelen.
The crime shook the Orlando community; it was a small city at the time with a low crime rate.
“It was so uncommon that it just shocked this community. We weren’t used to things like that,” said Peelen.
“Those four lives ceased to exist but he's continued to live for 28-plus years. And it is time that justice be done in this particular case,” said Perry