Victim's Mother: 'His Life Surely Does Not Equal The Lives Of Those He Took'

Ada Larson, mother of one of Danny Rolling's victims, released this statement after the execution:

"The man they executed deserved his punishment. He caused a mountain of pain and 16 years of torment for all the family members of Sonja, Christi, Christa, Tracy and Manny, not to mention the effect on the Gainesville college community in 1990 and the friends of these wonderful students.

"We must also not forget the three family members this killer slaughtered mercilessly in Shreveport, La. The Grissom family have been in extreme pain and it is as if they have been forgotten. Julie Grissom, her father and nephew were horribly murdered. The nephew was only 9 years old. They left behind a family, too. Joyce Burton is Julie's mother and the 9-year-old's grandmother. Scott Grissom lost his son, sister and father. How much can a person bare? It is so tragic.

"I can still visualize the picture of my lovely daughter, Sonja, sleeping in her bed and then being stabbed over and over again by this ninja-clad killer as she was trying to fend off the blows. I can then visualize this animal taping and binding Sonja's roommate, Christi, raping her, then stabbing her to death.

"Each student was brutally murdered only for his sadistic pleasure. None knew him prior to this, nor had done anything to anger him. These students were the cream of the crop and would have been productive members of society.

"Our pain will never go away, but this evil man has gone away now. He will no longer gather the sympathy of those who he has beguiled. He will no longer be able to draw his illicit and weird drawings. He will no longer be housed, fed and taken care of on our expense. He can no longer write about the experiences of his killings.

"This is not closure as you in the media like to ask, but it closes a chapter in our never-ending sadness.

"I am not happy for this development but am assured that he has received his punishment. He could not die eight times, as would have been more just. His life surely does not equal the lives of those he took. As for forgiveness, it is for those whom he murdered to offer forgiveness, and they are unavailable.

"The time and many court proceedings were very difficult for our families and that is at least finished for this case."