A Florida man was executed on Thursday for killing two women with a hammer and lighting them on fire over 26 years ago, Reuters reported.
Robert Lavern Henry, 55, was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m., according to Misty Cash, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections.
Henry, a former Marine, was convicted for the murders of Phyllis Harris, 53, and Janet Thermidor, 35, at a fabric store in Deerfield Beach in November 1987. However, Thermidor lived long enough to identify Harris as the attacker.
Though he initially denied responsibility for the gruesome crimes, Henry eventually admitted to killing his co-workers.
"You talk about atrocious, heinous, cruel, vile or wicked. He literally burned them up," Broward County prosecutor Michael Satz told the jury in 1988. "This is a case that nightmares are made of."
Henry was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, armed robbery, and arson -- largely due to Thermidor's help before she died from her injuries.
According to CBS News, Henry was the 84th person to be executed in the state of Florida ever since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Additionally, he was the 16th inmate to be put to death under Gov. Rick Scott.
"It's a solemn duty to sign a death warrant," Scott said. "People go through the process, and I do my job. That's how it works.''
