Daniel Thomas was executed by the State of Florida for a murder committed during a robbery
According to court documents Daniel Thomas would break into a home, shoot and kill the male homeowner and sexually assault the female homeowner
Daniel Thomas would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Daniel Thomas would be execute by way of the electric chair on April 15 1986
Daniel Thomas Photos
Daniel Thomas FAQ
When was Daniel Thomas executed
Daniel Thomas was executed on April 15 1986
How was Daniel Thomas executed
Daniel Thomas was executed by way of the electric chair
Daniel Thomas Case
Kicking, cursing and fighting with five Death Row guards, ski-mask killer Daniel Thomas was strapped into Florida’s electric chair Tuesday and executed for murdering a man and raping his wife as her husband lay dying.
Veteran observers said the struggle was the first to take place in Florida State Prison’s death room within memory.
Cursing and screaming ″Get off me 3/8 Get off me 3/8″ Thomas, 37, was subdued after a seven-minute struggle during which he kicked one guard in the groin and tried to bite another on the arm.
He was pronounced dead at 12:19 p.m. EST – the 14th man electrocuted in the state since 1979, after the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty.
″It was violent. It was the first time this has happened in my experience, … and I’ve never heard of it before,″ said prison spokesman Vernon Bradford.
Daniel Thomas, a member of the ″ski-mask gang″ that rampaged through rural central Florida for 10 months in 1975 and 1976, was convicted of the New Year’s Day 1976 shooting death of Charles Anderson, 48.
The killer forced Anderson’s wife, Betty, to have sex with him as Anderson bled to death in their Polk County home.
During the death-chamber melee, Thomas, about 6 feet tall and 180 pounds, slid down into the chair, his legs thrashing wildly at the men trying to restrain him.
Guards, assisted by a doctor and a physician’s assistant, managed to stop Thomas’ outburst and pin him to the three-legged, oak electric chair. A strap was placed around his chin.
Prison Superintendent Richard Dugger then approached the condemned man, leaned over and spoke directly into his face, apparently telling him he would not be able to read his last statement unless he settled down.
Panting wildly for about 20 seconds, Thomas quieted and began reading from a yellow legal sheet in a low voice, much of it incomprehensible to 19 witnesses, stunned by the struggle they had observed through large windows.
″We are human tools, political pawns, political human sacrifices for the politicians,″ Thomas mumbled, referring to Florida’s 241 death row prisoners.
The black-hooded executioner threw the switch sending 2,000 volts through the prisoner’s body at 12:14 p.m. Thomas was pronounced dead five minutes later.
Gov. Bob Graham, in a statement in Tallahassee after Thomas’ sentence was carried out, drew a parallel to the U.S. raid on Libya.
″The taking of human life is the most difficult action of government, whether it occurs on foreign soil or within our state,″ Graham said.
″Society must be prepared to defend itself against those who have little regard for human life by invoking this ultimate penalty,″ Graham said.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a final appeal about six minutes before Thomas entered the death chamber. It was Thomas’ second death warrant. He escaped the electric chair in October 1982, receiving a stay from a federal judge just hours before his scheduled date.
It was the first execution in Florida in almost 11 months and came on the ninth anniversary of the imposition of Thomas’ death sentence.
Earlier this week, Mrs. Anderson said Thomas’ execution might help relieve the sleepless nights she had experienced since her husband’s murder.
″Everyone gives more sympathy to the criminals than to the victims,″ Mrs. Anderson said. ″The victims have to live with this. Even after he (Thomas) is dead and gone, they’ll still be living with it.″
