A Florida man convicted of the brutal 1998 rape and murder of his next-door neighbor was executed Tuesday evening, marking the state’s 15th execution this year—a total higher than any other U.S. state.
Norman Mearle Grim Jr., 65, was pronounced dead by lethal injection at 6:14 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke, according to the state’s Department of Corrections. Grim was sentenced to death after his conviction for the sexual battery and first-degree murder of his neighbor, Cynthia Campbell.
The execution solidifies Florida’s position as the nation’s most active death penalty state in 2025, significantly outpacing Texas and Alabama, which have carried out five executions each this year.
Grim was convicted in December 2000 for the killing of Campbell, whose battered body was discovered off the Pensacola Bay Bridge by a fisherman in 1998 after she was reported missing. Prosecutors presented evidence that Campbell had suffered multiple blunt-force injuries consistent with being struck by a hammer, along with 11 stab wounds to her chest—seven of which penetrated her heart. Physical evidence, including DNA, ultimately tied Grim to the killing.
In the days leading up to his death, Grim waived any further appeals to the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court during a hearing earlier this month. On Tuesday, he reportedly awoke at 6 a.m. and was given a last meal of fried pork chops and mashed potatoes, accompanied by a chocolate milkshake and pie. According to Department of Corrections spokesman Ted Veerman, Grim did not meet with any visitors or a spiritual adviser ahead of his scheduled evening execution.
The procedure used a three-drug cocktail: a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug to stop the heart, as per state protocol.
With two more executions scheduled for next month under death warrants signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida’s total is set to climb higher.
Bryan Fredrick Jennings, 66, convicted of the 1979 rape and murder of a 6-year-old girl, is set for execution on November 13. Richard Barry Randolph, 63, convicted in the 1988 rape and fatal beating of his former manager, is scheduled for November 20.
The state’s current execution tally has already surpassed its previous modern record of eight people executed in 2014, since the U.S. Supreme Court restored the death penalty in 1976. Nationally, 40 men have died by court-ordered execution this year, with at least 18 others scheduled for execution through 2025 and into 2026.
READ: Florida Gov. DeSantis Sets Execution Record, Man Who Killed Ex-Boss Scheduled For Nov. 20
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