Convicted FL Killer, Rapist Executed At State Prison

RAIFORD, FL — A man convicted of raping a woman and killing her brother at an Ocala campsite has been executed, the Florida Department of Corrections said.

The State of Florida carried out the lethal-injection execution of Loran K. Cole, 57, at 6:15 p.m. Thursday at the Florida State Prison, the DOC said.

Florida Department of Corrections records showed Cole was sentenced to death on Feb. 18, 1994, after being convicted of first-degree murder in Marion County.

Attorneys for Cole attempted to stay the execution at the U.S. Supreme Court, citing the effects of the injection would compromise symptoms of Cole's Parkinson's disease, causing him "needless pain and suffering," WFLA previously reported.

However, the state moved carried out the execution.

In addition to his murder conviction, Cole was convicted and sentenced to life in prison on suspicion of two counts of kidnapping, two counts of robbery with a gun or deadly weapon and two counts of sexual battery with a weapon or force, according to DOC prison records.

Cole was convicted of jumping and robbing two siblings in the Ocala National Forest with a friend - leaving the brother beaten in the forest and taking the sister to a campsite, where Cole was accused of raping her, the Associated Press previously reported, citing court records.

Although they did not attend the execution, the parents of the victims had a statement read afterward by corrections officials. They wrote about how the murder of their son and the attack on their daughter had shattered their lives. But they said their daughter had gone on to become a wife, teacher and professor.

“Though invisible to others, our daughter bears internal scars that will never go away. She battled years of fear, pain and sorrow,” the statement said. “She is our hero.”

“We are void of feelings and empathy for Mr. Cole. He placed himself into this arena,” it added. “He does not deserve mercy.”

The Associated Press reported Cole did not have any final words. The last time an inmate was executed in Florida was in October 2023.