USA: James Ford in Florida and Richard Tabler in Texas executed on the same day

On Thursday evening, two prisoners were executed within an hour of each other in two different US states.

Florida

64-year-old James Dennis Ford was executed by lethal injection in the US state of Florida. He was sentenced to death for murdering a colleague and his wife during an outing in 1997 – in front of their two-year-old daughter, who survived.

James Ford grew up abused and neglected in a family of alcoholics. Nevertheless, he was very attached to his father – his death plunged Ford into deep despair. At the time of the crime, James Ford himself drank more than 20 beers a day and also suffered from uncontrolled diabetes, which could lead to blackouts with violent behavior.

Ford already had a low IQ as a child. Objective psychological tests showed that he was mentally at the developmental level of a 14-year-old. According to experts, no antisocial personality disorder could be found in him.

Neither before the murder of the couple nor in the decades on death row did he stand out for his violent behavior. A derailed blood sugar together with alcohol abuse could therefore explain the crime, according to James Ford’s supporters.

Texas

46-year-old Richard Lee Tabler was executed in Huntsville in the US state of Texas with a lethal injection, an overdose of pentobarbital. He was sentenced to death for shooting the co-owner of a local strip club, with whom he had done business, and his friend in 2004.

Two days later, Tabler shot two young dancers from the club. “I was filled with nothing but anger and hatred inside for everyone, including myself,” he said, describing his feelings at the time.

Tabler was a child of divorce and as a teenager was constantly shuttling between his parents in California and Florida. He suffered from bipolar disorder and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and took drugs – the disorders remained untreated.

He has long felt “great remorse for his actions and the person he used to be,” Tabler’s lawyers wrote in their petition for clemency. “He understands that he had no right to take his victims from their loved ones, and he feels terrible for the suffering he caused these families.”

Tabler’s 77-year-old mother, as well as his sister and other relatives, said he was no longer the same person, but had evolved into a loving and selfless man who did not deserve to die. Tabler himself said that he deeply regretted his crimes and was at peace with his impending death.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t regret my actions,” he said in his final words, which were addressed directly to the family members of his victims. “I had no right to take away your loved ones. I am deeply sorry.”

Richard Tabler became famous for using an illegal cell phone in 2008 to call a Texas senator who felt threatened by it – the extent of the huge problem of illegal cell phones in Texas prisons came to light as a result. Tabler maintained that he had not threatened the senator, but had wanted to draw attention to the catastrophic prison conditions.

Sources:
https://apnews.com/article/florida-execution-james-ford-double-murder-8bd28331219f83de4cd42abe914453c8
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/02/13/texas-execution-richard-lee-tabler-florida/78533711007/