Jimmy Ryce Killer Scheduled for Execution Feb. 12

The South Miami-Dade farmhand who sexually assaulted, murdered and dismembered 9-year-old Jimmy Ryce nearly two decades ago will be executed on Feb. 12 at 6 p.m., the governors office said Thursday.

Gov. Rick Scott's office has confirmed that Juan Carlos Chavez will be put to death by lethal injection nearly two decades after he buried the boy's body in concrete in an avocado grove.

I just received the news that justice will finally be done in the murder of my son, Jimmy, on September 11, 1995, Don Ryce, the boys father, said in a written statement from his home in Vero Beach. I feel a combination of sadness and relief. I hope this sends a message to predators that this behavior will not go unpunished.

The Ryces were living in the South Florida town of Redland when Jimmy disappeared near his school-bus stop. It took three months of searching before Miami-Dade police found his remains.

Claudine Ryce and her labor-lawyer husband Don almost immediately became effective crusaders for child victims, creating a foundation in Jimmy's name, helping parents prepare their children to defend against predators and lobbying for anti-predator legislation.

Claudine didn't live to see justice done. She died of a heart attack in 2009.