ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Bobby Joe Long, one of Florida's most notorious serial killers, is hours away from death.
After spending 34 years on death row, Long is scheduled to die by lethal injection using three drugs, one of which is etomidate. His attorneys have appealed sentencing in recent weeks, arguing the drugs' use would be "cruel and unusual punishment."
The appeals were denied and the time is set: Long, now 65 years old, is scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. today.
Long is linked to the homicides of 10 women over a span of about eight months during the mid-1980s. Victims' ranged in age from 18-28 years old.
His reign of terror came to an end not long after Long abducted 17-year-old Lisa McVey in November 1984. McVey said she convinced Long to let her go and provided information to investigators that led to Long's arrest.
McVey's harrowing experience led her to become a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputy.
Long infamously was called the "Classified Ad Rapist;" he claimed to have raped 40 women in three states.
Following his spree, Long was sentenced to death after being convicted in the May 1984 death of 22-year-old former beauty contestant Michelle Denise Simms.