A Florida man who was being put to death for the 1993 rape and murder of college student, yelled “Murderers! Murderers! Murderess!” as the execution drugs were being administered, yesterday evening.
Minutes earlier he had addressed corrections officer, saying it should Florida Gov. Rick Scott and his attorney general Pam Bondi to execute the death sentence, not the workers present. “Let them come down here and do it,” Branch said. “I’ve learned that you’re good people and this is not what you should be doing.”
Branch was convicted of brutally raping and killing 21-year-old University of West Florida student Susan Morris. Evidence in the case shows Branch approached Morris after she left a night class on January 11, 1993 in order to steal her car to return to his home state of Indiana. He was arrested while traveling in Indiana.
Branch was also convicted of other sexual assaults, including of a 14-year-old girl in Indiana and of another sexual assault in Florida that took place just ten days before the killing of Morris, records show.
Branch was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. Thursday. The governor’s office made the announcement.