Marshall Lee Gore Executed; Killer Refuses to Give Last Statement
Marshall Lee Gore was put to death for the 1988 murders of Robyn Novick and Susan Marie Roark. His execution was delayed three times: twice by Governor Rick Scott's stay of execution and again by a political fundraiser for the Attorney General.
Gore, 50, offered no last words before being administered a lethal concoction of drugs. He refused to even open his eyes and look around, according to the Miami Herald's report. The execution began a little after 6:00 p.m. and Gore was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m.
It was the end of an ordeal lasting more than two decades in the state of Florida. Many contested the execution and argued that Gore was not mentally capable of understanding the charges against him or the penalty he received. Others, however, thought that Gore was merely playing the system and trying to avoid the death penalty.
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"I thought that was quite ironic," retired Miami-Dade Detective Dave Simmons, an investigator who worked Simmons' case, told the Herald. "He played the system for years, faking insanity, saying outlandish things to judges and witness, and in his moment of truth, he had nothing to say for himself. He was the ultimate coward in the end."
Pamela Novick, the sister of victim Robyn, who was stabbed and beaten, watched the execution. She was the only member of the family able to attend, as her father passed away before the execution and her mother refused to attend.
"My sister Robyn wasn't given a choice of how or when she wanted to die," Pamela told reporters. "She was violently murdered by a serial killer with no mercy and no appeals. Our dearest father Alvin had hoped to see this day. Unfortunately he passed away too soon."
"I think the system is set up in a way that makes it very difficult for everybody involved, especially the victims' families," former prosecutor Seff said. "Despite the fact that so much time has passed, the execution brought some peace to these people."
