Florida inmate set for execution says he endured 'horrific abuse' at state-run school

A Florida death row inmate set to be executed Thursday in the 1994 killing of a college student says he's innocent and that his life should be spared because of "horrific abuse" he suffered at a notorious, state-run reform school that was shut down.

Loran Kenstley Cole, 57, will become the first inmate executed in Florida this year and the 13th in the nation if his lethal injection takes place. Cole was convicted in the murder of John Edwards, 18, and the rape of his sister during a camping trip at Ocala National Forest in north central Florida.

As Cole's execution approaches, USA TODAY talked to the mother of Cole's child and is looking back at the crime, who Cole is, and what led him down a path that ended in Edward's death and his sister's rape.

More about what Loran Cole was convicted of

On. Feb, 18, 1994, the Edwards siblings were setting up camp when they met Cole, then 27, and another man, William Paul, then 20. Cole introduced himself as "Kevin" and Paul as his "brother" and helped them finish setting up their site. 

That night, the Edwardses set off to visit a pond to take photos of alligators with the men. They never made it.

Before reaching the pond, court records say, Cole jumped Edwards’ sister and handcuffed her. Her brother tried to intervene but was subdued by both men.

Paul took the woman farther up the path and Cole stayed behind with John Edwards, who died from a slashed throat and multiple skull fractures. Edwards’ sister was raped and tied between two trees the next morning before freeing herself. A driver found her and called 911. Law enforcement found Edwards' body covered with pine needles, sand, and palm fronds.

Three days later, police arrested Cole and Paul.

In 1995, Cole and Paul were convicted of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon. Cole also was convicted of two counts of sexual battery and was sentenced to death. Paul, who pleaded guilty to his felony charges, was sentenced to life and remains incarcerated in Florida.

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More about who Loran Cole is

Born in Iowa to Don and Ann Cole on Nov. 11, 1966, Cole's parents spilt when he was about 4 years old, Colleen Kucler, who shares an adult son with Cole, told USA TODAY in a recent interview.

Cole eventually moved to Florida with his mother, who remarried, and he was sent to foster care at a young age, Kucler said.

At trial, court record show, one of Cole’s three sisters testified that her brother had a drug problem starting about age 12. Other testimony from family revealed "physical abuse, (a) transient and unstable lifestyle, and substance abuse by his parents."

At 17, Cole was sent to the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, a now-defunct state-run reform school in Marianna, an hour west of Tallahassee.

Cole suppressed his memories of his experiences at Dozier but they resurfaced more than 10 years ago when he saw a documentary about the school, according to court filings. Cole said he was raped by a guard, beaten regularly, and had both of his legs broken by staff after trying to escape during a six-month stint at the school.

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Who did Loran Cole become after childhood?

In the mid 1980s, Kucler said she met Cole at a mutual friend's house in Cincinnati.

"We dated for about six years," said Kucler, now married and living in Indiana. "It was on and off. When he wasn't in jail for drugs or petty crimes we were together."

Their son, Ryan Cole, was born in 1988, and Cole left his family just two years later. Kucler never heard from him again until authorities alerted her he was being tried for murder.

"I was shocked," Kucler said. "I knew Loran well and he was mostly involved in thievery but it never involved people."

Once Ryan was a bit older, Kucler took him to visit his dad in prison.

"I hadn't seen him for two decades when I brought Ryan to see him. I knew at some point he needed closure," she said by phone from Florida, where she said she and Ryan Cole were there "to say goodbye."

It was the first time Cole's son saw him on death row.

"Visiting with him ... made me remember all the reasons I was attracted to him. He could charm a wall if he wanted to," Kucler recalled. "He's very intelligent, very fun-loving. He's more spiritual now."

She said she was planning to say goodbye unless "God intervenes with a miracle."

"I’m praying for a miracle myself," she said.

She said Cole told her that he didn't want to burden her and that: "I just want to know you'll be OK."

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What has Lauren Cole argued in his appeals?

Cole has contested his conviction more than a dozen times and has for years maintained that his co-defendant is responsible for Edwards’ killing.

"He maintains that he did not kill Edwards and that the murder weapon was found with Paul’s possessions and with his fingerprints on it," Gerod Hooper, the chief assistant at the Capital Collateral Regional Counsel, told USA TODAY.

Cole's attorneys also recently argued − unsuccessfully − that jurors never learned of the reform school abuse he suffered at Dozer, which closed in 2011. Their motion came days after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Cole's death warrant on July 29 − only weeks after signing a bill setting aside $20 million to compensate former Dozier attendees, “subjected to mental, physical or sexual abuse perpetrated by school personnel."

"If Cole’s jury had known about the severe abuse that happened at Dozier, and Florida’s willingness to acknowledge the severe problems at Dozier to the extent that designated victims are entitled to reparations, there is a reasonable probability the newly discovered evidence would yield a less severe sentence," Cole's attorneys wrote in a brief filed Aug. 13 with the Florida Supreme Court.

Since 2012, researchers have found remains of dozens of students buried at the school. Surviving students have shared with state lawmakers intimate details of horrific abuse, neglect and torture they suffered as teens.

Cole isn’t the only former Dozer student who has been sentenced to death, the Tallahassee Democrat, part of the USAT TODAY Network, reported. Six other men have − one who died, two who were resentenced to life and three who remain on death row. 

Cole’s attorneys have also asked the high court a for stay of scheduled execution, saying lethal-injection would cause "needless pain and suffering" because of Cole's symptoms from Parkinson’s disease, which he's had since 2017. Cole "experiences shaking in both of his arms from his neck to his fingertips and in his legs.”

Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office urged the high court to reject the defense attorneys' efforts, saying Cole unsuccessfully raised the Dozier issue in previous appeals and the new law doesn't constitute new evidence.

“Cole has long known of his claimed symptoms of Parkinson’s disease,” prosecutors wrote this month. “There is no reason in law or fact for Cole to wait years to raise this claim now under an active death warrant.”

The Florida Supreme Court on Friday unanimously rejected halting the execution.

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When will Loran Cole be executed?

Cole is slated to be executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison on Thursday, Aug 29.

The method is the most common in the nation. The first drug administered in a three-drug cocktail for Florida’s execution process is the sedative Etomidate. The second drug injected into to the condemned inmate is rocuronium bromide, a paralytic. The last drug administered, potassium acetate, is used to stop the inmate's heart.

Under Florida execution guidelines, Cole is allowed to request a last meal so long as it doesn't exceed $40.

If all goes as the state plans, it will mark the seventh time Florida executed a man since Aug. 8, 2019. The most recent execution took place in October, when the state executed Michael Zach for a woman's 1996 slaying.

It would also mark Florida's 106th execution since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.

Contributing: Dara Kam, Elena Barrera and Jim Saunders

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.