Killer Dies In The Chair

Flicking through true crime magazines, you come across obscure cases, and one recent feature covered the entire list of executed people in the U.S. since the death penalty was reintroduced in 1976.  Famously, the first one was in Utah, and the case of Gary Gilmore. Executed on January 17th 1977 by firing squad, it set the ball rolling.  This post is about a man who went to the chair in Florida on May 29th 1985.  The culprit was Marvin Francois aged 39.  He was condemned to death for the murder of six people.  This was not a serial killer case but a spree killing.

    Francois was hired as a hitman by a drug pusher to eliminate some competition - oh what loyalty! - and the former junkie killed the rival.  But his mask was not totally secure and it exposed some of his face.  Fearing he could be recognised, he killed five other people on the scene. He was captured and convicted and sentenced to death.  He became the 44th person to be executed at this point.  The only woman to be executed up to this point was Velma Barfield, who received a lethal injection on November 2nd 1984.