Gov. Rick Scott has ordered the execution of a former Sweetwater police officer convicted in the execution-style murders of nine people during a three-month spree in 1986.
Manuel Pardo Jr, 56, is scheduled to die Dec. 11 at Florida State Prison in Starke for a series of drug-related killings that began in January 1986.
Pardo was convicted in 1988 after taking the stand and admitting to all nine murders.
Scott announced the death warrant Tuesday evening. If carried out, Pardo would be the fifth condemned prisoner to be executed since Scott took office in January 2011.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court postponed the execution of John Ferguson following a series of last minute appeals.
During his 1988 trial, prosecutors painted Pardo as a former highway patrolman and suburban Miami police officer who became a drug dealer.
Among the victims were alleged drug dealers, a confidential informant and two women who allegedly owed Pardo money, prosecutors claimed.
Against his lawyer’s advice, Pardo took the stand, saying he was not after money but instead wanted to rid the world of drug dealers and their accomplices.
