Convicted killer Michael Tanzi was executed by lethal injection in Florida on Tuesday.
Tanzi had launched a last-minute wave of appeals to stave off his execution. Lawyers argued that Tanzi was “morbidly obese and suffers from severe chronic sciatica” and has “hyperlipidemia, uncontrolled hypertension, and gastroesophageal reflux disease,” meaning the drug cocktail designed to kill him might not work properly and cause him discomfort, according to NBC.
The appeals failed, leading to his execution after a final meal of a fried pork chop, bacon, a baked potato, corn, ice cream, a candy bar and soda, according to Newsweek.
Tanzi’s final words were an apology to the families of two women he murdered — Janet Acosta, whose 2000 killing led to Tanzi’s execution, and Caroline Holder, 37, who he said he killed in Brockton, Massachusetts, in 1999,
“I want to apologize to the family of Janet Acosta and Caroline Holder for taking their lives,” he said.
“Heavenly Father, please do not blame those who do not know what they’re doing,” he continued.
The 6 foot 3 inch tall inmate, who weighed 383 pounds, was dead within moments.
“Inmate Tanzi woke up this morning at 4:45 a.m. He was provided his last meal, and he has remained compliant,” Florida Department of Corrections spokesman Ted Veerman said prior to the execution.
Julie Andrew, a sister of Acosta, said after the execution that she promised her sister to fight for her and witness justice.
“It’s over. It’s done,” Andrew said after Tanzi was executed, according to the Miami Herald.
“My heart just felt lighter, and I could breathe again,” she said.
Jennifer VanderWier, Acosta’s niece, said the execution was justice.
“Today marks the culmination of over two decades of work to get justice for Janet,” VanderWier said. “Janet would have wanted everything possible to be done to make sure that no other person had to go through what she went through. The fact that this stopped with her … at least we can find peace with that.”
Miami Police Lt. Carlos Alfaro had called Tanzi “a cold-blooded animal” when he was arrested.
In a confession, Tanzi offered a rationale for killing Acosta. “If I let her go, I was going to get caught quicker. I didn’t want to get caught. I was having too much fun,” he said.
Acosta was on a break reading a book in her van when Tanzi assaulted her, robbed her, used her bank card to withdraw cash from her account and drove to the Florida Keys, according to NBC.
“He drove to an isolated area in Cudjoe Key, told her he was going to kill her, and began to strangle her,” a summary by the state Commission on Capital Cases said. “He stopped to place duct tape over her mouth, nose and eyes in an attempt to quiet her and then strangled her until she expired.”
Tanzi later showed police where he left Acosta’s body.
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