Florida executed one of its oldest prisoners on Tuesday, putting to death 74-year-old Dennis Sochor via lethal injection. Sochor was convicted of murdering 18-year-old Patricia Gifford in 1982. The execution marks the state's 10th lethal injection this year, accounting for more than half of all executions in the United States.
Execution Details
Sochor was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. after receiving a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was strapped to a gurney with an IV in his arm when the curtain to the death chamber rose at the scheduled 6 p.m. execution time. Asked by the warden if he had any last words, Sochor said he did.
He apologized several times to the Gifford family, saying he was "deeply sorry," and thanked his own loved ones for their support. He commended his spirit to Jesus Christ shortly before the drugs began to flow at 6:03 p.m. Sochor underwent about a minute of heavy breathing and then some seconds of sputtering. After two minutes in which he appeared to go still, the warden looked into his eyes, shook his shoulders and yelled his name without getting a response. A medic was summoned at 6:14 p.m., soon after pronouncing Sochor dead.
Ageing Death Row Population
Sochor is one of three older prisoners scheduled for execution within a month in Florida. Another 74-year-old prisoner, Dusty Ray Spencer, was executed on June 25 for killing his wife. Later this month, the state is preparing to execute Dominick Anthony Occhicone, 80, who would become the second oldest prisoner executed in modern U.S. history after 83-year-old Walter Moody Jr., executed in Alabama in 2018.
The execution plans highlight the ageing death row population in the U.S. and Florida's busy death chamber. Florida has now carried out 10 of the 16 executions conducted nationwide this year, more than every other state combined.
Victim's Family Reacts
Marilyn Gifford, Patricia's sister, said after witnessing the execution that Sochor's death brings some closure, but it is bittersweet since her sister's body has never been found. She encouraged anyone with information that could lead to the remains to contact authorities.
"He had 45 years to return Patty's remains to us, but he cruelly chose not to," Gifford said, reading from a statement. "We never got a chance to lay her to rest in God's arms. Without closure, every happy memory of Patty is immediately crushed by the tragedy of her murder."
Gifford also pointed out that Sochor got to live more than twice as long on death row as her sister lived her entire life. "Tonight's execution was appropriate because Dennis Sochor was a lifelong brutal and sadistic man," she said.
Crime and Conviction
According to court records, Patricia Gifford was celebrating New Year's with a friend at a Fort Lauderdale area bar when they met Sochor and his brother. The four spent hours talking, but after the friend became ill and went to sleep in her car, Gifford left with Sochor and his brother to have breakfast. Instead of going for food, Sochor stopped his truck in a secluded area and attacked Gifford, according to investigators.
Sochor was arrested in Georgia in 1986 on unrelated charges and extradited to Florida. Sochor's brother told police Sochor was responsible for Gifford's disappearance, and Sochor himself confessed on tape to choking Gifford and disposing of her body. A jury convicted him of first-degree murder and kidnapping in 1987, and he was sentenced to death.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Sochor's final appeal without comment.
