Former Florida police officer scheduled for execution tonight

In a 1988 photo, Manuel Pardo listens as his sentence is read. He was found guilty of nine counts of murder. Pardo, 56, is scheduled to be executed Tuesday night, Dec. 10, 2012, at Florida State Prison in Starke barring a last-minute stay, fulfilling a request he made to jurors at his 1988 trial. (AP Photo/The Miami Herald)

In a 1988 photo, Manuel Pardo listens as his sentence is read. He was found guilty of nine counts of murder. Pardo, 56, is scheduled to be executed Tuesday night, Dec. 10, 2012, at Florida State Prison in Starke barring a last-minute stay, fulfilling a request he made to jurors at his 1988 trial. (AP Photo/The Miami Herald)

Manuel Pardo Jr.

Florida DOC

Manuel Pardo Jr.

STARKE — A former Florida police officer is scheduled to be executed for the murder of nine people 26 years ago.

The execution by lethal injection for 56-year-old Manuel Pardo Jr. is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Florida State Prison in Starke. U.S. Judge Timothy Corrigan denied Pardo's request for a stay on Monday.

Officials said most of Pardo's victims were involved with drugs. Pardo contended that he was doing the world a favor by killing them in 1986.

Pardo's attorneys are trying to block his execution. They are arguing in federal appeals court that he is mentally ill, something his trial attorney believed more than two decades ago.

Pardo was dubbed the "Death Row Romeo" after he corresponded with dozens of women and persuaded many to send him money.

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