A Florida man was executed on Thursday for killing his brother's stepdaughter five decades ago.
James Ernest Hitchcock, 70, was convicted of strangling and beating 13-year-old Cynthia Driggers to death in 1976.
Hitchcock was executed by lethal injection at about 6:12 p.m. at Florida State Prison after Governor Ron DeSantis signed his death warrant on March 30.
As the killer lay in the death chamber under a sheet, staring at the ceiling, he spoke his last words to a friend, The Independent reported.
'Just to say goodbye to Joshua, my friend. Thanks for all you've done,' he said.
After the drugs were injected, Hitchcock died within minutes. The 28 witnesses reportedly showed no visible reaction, per the outlet.
Hitchcock was 20 when he was living with his brother in Orlando before he murdered the young girl, per court records obtained by the outlet.
After his arrest, Hitchcock told police he was under the influence of beer and marijuana when he entered Driggers' room and raped her.
Hitchcock choked the teen after she said she would tell her mother about the assault.
He later took her outside, where he beat and choked her to death, and left her lifeless body in nearby bushes before going to bed.
The killer initially blamed his brother for the crimes before being convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1977.
Despite his multiple appeals, he was resentenced to death in 1988, 1993, and 1996.
Driggers' family gathered after the execution and spoke to reporters about the 13-year-old's death.
'We will continue to remember Cindy by keeping her memory alive and always understanding that life is precious and time is valuable,'
the teen's sister, Lynn Cobb, said.
Hitchcock's death marks Florida's sixth execution this year, highlighting the state's continued use of older death sentences - four of the other five inmates executed were condemned in the 1990s.
Governor DeSantis authorized 19 executions in 2025, the highest total for any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated.
Last year, 47 people received the death penalty and were executed in the US.
Florida had the most executions, with Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas all tying for second with five executions each in 2025.
In Florida, all executions are carried out by lethal injection, with a sedative, paralytic, and a drug that stops the heart all administered to the subject, according to the Department of Corrections.