White Supremacist executed in Florida

In an interview on Wednesday with News4Jax at Florida State Prison in Raiford, a tearful Mark Asay said he was a born-again Christian and was ready to die although he preferred to live. He denied killing one of the two victims he was convicted of murdering three decades ago in Jacksonvillle. (News4Jax)

WASHINGTON – A white supremacist was executed Thursday night in Florida after 30 years on death row, Florida corrections officials said – marking the first time the state has put a white person to death for killing a black person.

Mark Asay, 53, was convicted in 1987 of killing Robert Lee Booker, as well as cross-dresser Robert McDowell, a Latino who also used the name Renee Torres.

Asay’s final meal at Florida State Prison in Raiford was fried pork chops, fried ham, French fries, vanilla swirl ice cream and a can of Coke.

At 6 p.m. EDT, Asay was given three injections, beginning with etomidate, an anesthetic that had never been used in a U.S. execution. He was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m. EDT.

Asay made no last statement, and did not speak or show any indication of pain during the execution, a Florida corrections department spokesperson said. Earlier in the day, he met with family members and a spiritual advisor.

On Thursday afternoon, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay of execution, and Gov. Rick Scott did not intervene with a stay just before Asay was put to death. He was the first person executed in Florida since January 2016.

The article is republished with permission from Talk Media News.