Fla. man is executed in boy’s rape, murder

Associated Press

STARKE, FLA.

A man was executed Wednesday night in Florida for raping and killing a 9-year-old boy 18 years ago, a death that spurred the victim’s parents to press nationwide for stronger sexual-predator confinement laws and better handling of child-abduction cases.

Juan Carlos Chavez, 46, was pronounced dead at 8:17 p.m. Wednesday after a lethal injection at Florida State Prison, according to Gov. Rick Scott’s office.

Chavez made no final statement in the death chamber but did submit a statement laced with religious references in writing. He moved his feet frequently after the injection began at 8:02 p.m. but two minutes later stopped moving.

Chavez abducted Jimmy Ryce at gunpoint after the boy got off a school bus Sept. 11, 1995, in rural Miami-Dade County.

Testimony showed Chavez raped the boy, shot him when he tried to escape, then dismembered his body and hid the parts in concrete-covered planters.

Ryce’s parents turned the tragedy’s pain into a push for stronger U.S. laws regarding confinement of sexual predators and improved police procedures in missing child cases.

Their foundation provided hundreds of free canines to law-enforcement agencies to aid in searches for children.

The Ryce family created the Jimmy Ryce Center for Victims of Predatory Abduction, a nonprofit organization based in Vero Beach.