Gov. Jeb Bush has signed the death warrant for Danny Rolling, who killed five Gainesville college students in the fall of 1990.
By JENNIFER LIBERTO, Times Staff Writer
Published September 22, 2006
Gov. Jeb Bush signed the death warrant Friday for Danny Rolling, the man convicted more than a decade ago of the Gainesville student murders. More than 16 years after the murders took place, Rolling will be executed on Oct. 25, 6 p.m.
Rolling had pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death back in 1994 for the murders of Christina Powell, Christina Hoyt, Manny Taboada, Tracy Paules and Sonya Larson. The five were tortured and killed in 1990 during their Fall semester. The case was a mystery for some time and caused a national stir, until Rolling was named a suspect.
The prosecutor on the case, Rod Smith, now a state senator from Alachua, recently lost his bid to be the Democratic candidate for governor after a grueling 18-month-long primary campaign. The Rolling case was his first and most celebrated triumph.
“I think it’s past time for this matter to be brought to closure,” Smith said.
Bush, who could have signed the death warrant as early as June, waited until after the execution Wednesday of Clarence Hill, who killed a Pensacola police officer 24 years ago. Hill’s death came after months of court proceedings that had stayed his execution for several months.
