A Florida man convicted of the 1994 killings of his wife and their two children was executed on Thursday, marking the ninth death sentence carried out in the state this year. This sets a new state record for executions in a single year since the U.S. death penalty was reinstated nearly 50 years ago.
Edward Zakrzewski, 60, was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke after a three-drug injection. The process consists of a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug that stops the heart, according to the state Department of Corrections. Zakrzewski reportedly said he had no complaints about the execution process, stating he wanted to thank the good people of the Sunshine State for killing him in the most cold, calculated, clean, humane, efficient way possible.
Zakrzewski was lying on a gurney covered with a white sheet when the drugs were administered. Before the injection, he also quoted from a poem as 14 witnesses, along with reporters and prison staff, observed the event. Once the drugs were administered, Zakrzewski began breathing deeply, surrounded by three prison staffers in dark suits. One of them shook Zakrzewski by his shoulders and shouted his name, but there was no reaction, and then he became still.
On Thursday morning, Zakrzewski woke at 5:15 a.m. and had a meal that included fried pork chops, root beer, and ice cream, according to the state Department of Corrections. He had one visitor and remained compliant as his execution time neared. Zakrzewski was sentenced to death for the June 9, 1994, killings of his wife Sylvia, 34, and their children Edward, 7, and Anna, 5. Trial testimony revealed that Zakrzewski killed his family at their Okaloosa County home after his wife asked for a divorce. He had previously told others that he would kill his family rather than allow the divorce to proceed.
He first attacked his wife with a crowbar and strangled her with a rope. The two children were killed with a machete, and Sylvia was also struck with the blade when Zakrzewski believed she had survived the initial attack, according to court records. Zakrzewski’s lawyers filed several unsuccessful appeals, including a final plea for a stay of execution, which the U.S. Supreme Court denied on Wednesday.
Opponents of Zakrzewski’s execution highlighted his military service as an Air Force veteran and the fact that the jury narrowly voted 7-5 to recommend his execution. They pointed out that under current state law, Zakrzewski could not have received the death penalty with a split jury vote. After the Supreme Court restored the U.S. death penalty in 1976, Florida’s previous record for total executions in a year was eight in 2014, which was surpassed on Thursday. A 10th execution is scheduled in the state on August 19 and an 11th on August 28.
Florida has also carried out more executions this year than any other state, with Texas and South Carolina tied for second with four executions each. Across the U.S., 27 men have been put to death so far this year, with nine other people scheduled for execution in seven states for the rest of the year. Florida was also the last state to execute someone, with Michael Bernard Bell killed on July 15.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.