Florida man executed for 1990 double murder of his bosses

(AFP) A 64-year-old man was executed by lethal injection in the state of Florida on Tuesday for the murders of his two bosses in 1990. It is the 34th execution in the country so far this year.

Victor Jones was executed at 18H13 local time at a state prison near Jacksonville, the Florida Department of Corrections reported on its website.

Jones stabbed Jacob Nestor, 67, and Matilda Nestor, 66, during a robbery shortly after starting work at their Miami business. The couple, Brooklyn natives, had two children and four grandchildren.

Before dying from his wounds, Jacob shot Jones in the head.

The Florida Supreme Court refused to halt Jones' execution after hearing arguments that the man had an intellectual disability and that he suffered abuse in a reform school as a teenager.

Which state has the highest number of executions?

So far this year, 34 people have been executed in the US, the highest number since 2014, when 35 prisoners were put to death.

Florida, with 13, is the state with the highest number of executions this year, followed by Texas (5) and South Carolina and Alabama (4).

The most common method of carrying out executions in the country is lethal injection, but there have also been cases of firing squads and hypoxia by nitrogen inhalation.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states. President Donald Trump called for the expansion of capital punishment for "the most heinous crimes."