Florida executes child killer Larry Mann
~~By Alex Galbraith, Mstarz Reporter
32 years after Larry Eugene Mann murdered 10-year-old Elisa Nelson, he has been put to death at Florida State Prison.
Mann was executed via lethal injection last night at 7:19 p.m. He was 59.
On November 4, 1980, Mann abducted Elisa as she rode her bike to school in Palm Harbor, a small community north of Clearwater and St. Petersburg, FL.
When the girl was reported missing, teams of searchers found her body in a nearby orange grove. She had suffered a blow to the head with a concrete brick and her throat had been slit.
Mann attempted to kill himself after the murder by slashing his own wrists. He told responding police officers that he had "done something stupid."
Mann confessed to abducting, abusing and murdering the child after his wife found evidence of the girl's presence in his car, a note from Elisa Nelson's mother that had fallen out during a struggle. It later came out that he had raped at least two others, one of whom was seven years old. Mann was 27 at the time.
His execution has been held up for decades due to appeals from his lawyers and his execution came about an hour after the U.S. Supreme Court denied Mann's appeal.
Mann's final meal was a seafood platter, including fried shrimp, stuffed crabs, ice cream and soda. When asked for his last words Mann said "Uh, no sir."
Though Mann did request that a Bible verse be handed out after his execution.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord," the handwritten note read.
Outside the prison there were pro-death penalty groups and anti-dealth penalty protestors alike.
After the execution Jeff Nelson, Elisa's brother, read a written statement to those assembled about the events that included a description of Elisa's life and a brutal depiction of how she died.
We just watched [Mann] slip into a very peaceful sleep. That's a far cry from how my sister passed," he said.
"Elisa was only in our lives for less than 3,800 days and this pedophile and his lawyers have spent nearly 12,000 days - over three times her entire life - making a mockery of our legal system," Nelson added.
Mann was executed via lethal injection last night at 7:19 p.m. He was 59.
On November 4, 1980, Mann abducted Elisa as she rode her bike to school in Palm Harbor, a small community north of Clearwater and St. Petersburg, FL.
When the girl was reported missing, teams of searchers found her body in a nearby orange grove. She had suffered a blow to the head with a concrete brick and her throat had been slit.
Mann attempted to kill himself after the murder by slashing his own wrists. He told responding police officers that he had "done something stupid."
Mann confessed to abducting, abusing and murdering the child after his wife found evidence of the girl's presence in his car, a note from Elisa Nelson's mother that had fallen out during a struggle. It later came out that he had raped at least two others, one of whom was seven years old. Mann was 27 at the time.
His execution has been held up for decades due to appeals from his lawyers and his execution came about an hour after the U.S. Supreme Court denied Mann's appeal.
Mann's final meal was a seafood platter, including fried shrimp, stuffed crabs, ice cream and soda. When asked for his last words Mann said "Uh, no sir."
Though Mann did request that a Bible verse be handed out after his execution.
Outside the prison there were pro-death penalty groups and anti-dealth penalty protestors alike.
After the execution Jeff Nelson, Elisa's brother, read a written statement to those assembled about the events that included a description of Elisa's life and a brutal depiction of how she died.
We just watched [Mann] slip into a very peaceful sleep. That's a far cry from how my sister passed," he said.
"Elisa was only in our lives for less than 3,800 days and this pedophile and his lawyers have spent nearly 12,000 days - over three times her entire life - making a mockery of our legal system," Nelson added.
Courtesy: MSTARS NEWS
