Chadwick Banks, 43, last night became the eighth person executed this year by the state of Florida when he succumbed to a three-drug cocktail injected into his veins at Florida State Prison in Starke, FL.
Banks’ death sentence came after he fatally shot his sleeping wife and then raped and killed his young stepdaughter 22 years ago. He received the death penalty for killing the child, 10-year-old Melody Cooper. His sentence for the murder of his wife, Cassandra Banks, was life in prison.
He wound up spending more than half his life in prison before his execution.
Wearing a white skullcap as he looked directly at the family of the victims and delivered his final statement, according to a report on CBS News.
“I’m very sorry for the hurt and pain I have caused you all of these years,” Banks said. “Year after year I have tried to come up with a reasonable answer for my actions. But how could such acts be reasonable?”
Annette Black, the mother and grandmother of the two victims, told reporters after the execution that she appreciated Banks’ apology. She added that she hoped his case would be a cautionary lesson to people before they make bad decisions while high on alcohol or drugs.
Banks, 21 at the time, was drinking and playing pool at a bar before returning to his home in the Florida panhandle 22 years ago at around 3 a.m. Authorities said he shot his wife in the head at point-blank range and then raped and shot his stepdaughter.
For his last meal, Banks ordered fried fish, French fries, hush puppies, banana pudding and ice cream, said spokeswoman Jessica Cary with the Florida Department of Corrections.
He was visited by 14 family members and a spiritual adviser.
