A Florida man is slated for execution on Tuesday evening after being found guilty of raping and murdering his neighbor. The execution of Norman Mearle Grim Jr., 65, is scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison, located near Starke.
Grim was convicted of sexual battery and first-degree murder, receiving a death sentence for the 1998 murder of his neighbor, Cynthia Campbell. If carried out, this will mark Florida’s 15th execution in 2025, setting a new state record for the number of executions in a single year.
In 1998, Campbell was reported missing, and her body was later discovered by a fisherman near the Pensacola Bay Bridge. According to prosecutors, Campbell suffered multiple blunt-force injuries consistent with being hit by a hammer, along with 11 stab wounds to her chest. An autopsy showed that seven of these stab wounds penetrated her heart. DNA and other physical evidence linked Grim to the murder, leading to his conviction in December 2000 and subsequent death sentence.
Once a death warrant is signed and an execution date is established, inmates have the opportunity to appeal to both the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. However, earlier this month, Grim opted to waive any further appeals.
This year, 40 men have been executed by court order across the U.S., with at least 18 more individuals scheduled for execution throughout the rest of 2025 and into the following year.
A total of 40 men have died by court-ordered execution so far this year in the U.S., and at least 18 other people are scheduled to be put to death during the remainder of 2025 and next year.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court restored the death penalty in 1976, the highest previous annual total of Florida executions was eight in 2014. Florida has executed more people than any other state this year, followed by Texas and Alabama with five each. Two more executions are planned for next month in Florida under death warrants signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Bryan Fredrick Jennings, 66, is scheduled for Florida’s 16th execution on Nov. 13. He was convicted of raping and killing a 6-year-old girl in 1979 after entering through a window and abducting her from her central Florida home.
Richard Barry Randolph, 63, is set for Florida’s 17th execution on Nov. 20. He was convicted of the 1988 rape and fatal beating of his former manager at a Florida convenience store.
Florida’s lethal injections are carried out with a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the state Department of Corrections.
