A Florida killer found guilty of shooting and bludgeoning a newlywed couple to death in front of their toddler was finally executed on Thursday, nearly three decades after his gruesome crimes. 

James D. Ford, 64, was executed via lethal injection at Florida State Prison on Thursday for the murders of Greg Malnory, 25, and his wife Kimberly, 26, after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his death warrant on Jan. 10. 

“Never give up. Always fight for your children,” Connie Ankney, mother of Greg Malnory, told Fox News Digital in an interview on the day of the execution, which she traveled hours to attend. “I never quit fighting for my son and Kimberly. I didn’t know if I would be alive today to see this because Kimberly’s mother isn’t.”

“They always talk about… closure,” she added. “Well, no, it’s justice. Just justice.” 

Greg and Kimberly Malnory were murdered at a South Florida Sod Farm in 1997. (CHARLOTTE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE)

Ford was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, sexual battery with a firearm, and child abuse, and he was sentenced to death on June 3, 1999. His execution on Thursday was the first in Florida this year, after one in the state in 2024 and six in 2023. 

“I just want to give him a big hug and…tell him thank you, thank you,” Ankney said about DeSantis and signing the death warrant. 

“They can finally rest in peace. This has been something that’s been going on for 27 years, and now they can have peace,” she added. “The heartache is still going to be there, but he’s done. I have no mercy for him… it’s totally in God’s hands.”