Florida man convicted raping and killing his neighbor in 1998 is set to be executed

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man convicted of raping and killing his next-door neighbor is scheduled to be executed Tuesday evening.

Norman Mearle Grim Jr., 65, is set to receive a lethal injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Grim was convicted of sexual battery and first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the 1998 killing of his neighbor Cynthia Campbell.

It would be Florida's 15th death sentence carried out in 2025, further extending the state record for total executions in a single year.

Campbell was reported missing in 1998, and her battered body was later found off the Pensacola Bay Bridge by a fisherman. Prosecutors said Campbell had suffered multiple blunt-force injuries to her face and head that were consistent with being struck by a hammer, as well has 11 stab wounds in the chest. An autopsy revealed seven of the stab wounds penetrated her heart. Physical evidence including DNA tied Grim to her killing and he was convicted in December 2000 and sentenced to death.

After a death warrant is signed and an execution date is set, inmates have a last chance to appeal to the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. But Grim waived any appeals during a hearing earlier this month.

A total of 40 men have died by court-ordered execution so far this year in the U.S., and at least 18 other people are scheduled to be put to death during the remainder of 2025 and next year.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court restored the death penalty in 1976, the highest previous annual total of Florida executions was eight in 2014. Florida has executed more people than any other state this year, followed by Texas and Alabama with five each. Two more executions are planned for next month in Florida under death warrants signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.