Florida executed 74-year-old Dennis Sochor on Tuesday, making him the oldest inmate to die by lethal injection in the state's modern history. Sochor was convicted of the Jan. 1, 1982, murder of 18-year-old Patricia Gifford.
Sochor was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke following a three-drug lethal injection. He was strapped to the gurney when the curtain to the death chamber opened at 6 p.m. Asked if he had last words, Sochor apologized to the Gifford family, thanked his own loved ones, and commended his spirit to Jesus Christ.
His execution followed approximately a minute of heavy breathing and some sputtering before he appeared to go still. A medic pronounced him dead at 6:14 p.m.
Sochor's death is part of a recent series of executions in Florida involving older inmates. Another 74-year-old, Dusty Ray Spencer, was executed just a week prior for killing his wife. Later this month, the state is scheduled to execute 80-year-old Dominick Occhicone, which would make him the second-oldest prisoner executed in modern U.S. history.
Florida has carried out 10 of the 16 executions nationwide this year. The scheduling of these consecutive executions of older inmates remains unclear, though the governor has significant discretion in scheduling executions in Florida.
Patricia Gifford's sister, Marilyn, stated that while Sochor's death brings some closure, it is bittersweet as her sister's body has never been found. "He had 45 years to return Patty’s remains to us, but he cruelly chose not to," Gifford said. She added that Sochor lived more than twice as long as her sister did. "Tonight’s execution was appropriate because Dennis Sochor was a lifelong brutal and sadistic man."
According to court records, Gifford met Sochor and his brother at a New Year's Eve party. After Gifford's friend became ill, Gifford left with the two brothers for breakfast, but Sochor instead drove to a secluded area and attacked her. Sochor was arrested in Georgia in 1986 on unrelated charges and extradited to Florida. His 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.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Sochor’s final appeal without comment on Tuesday.
Previously, the oldest inmates executed in Florida were Samuel Lee Smithers and R. Charlie Gifford, both 72. The oldest inmate executed in U.S. history was 83-year-old Walter Moody Jr., who was executed in Alabama in 2018.