Oldest inmate set to be executed in Florida will face strict spending limit for final meal

Florida is currently preparing to execute it's oldest inmate later today (July 14), a 74-year-old convicted murderer who has been on death row since the 1980s - but his final meal will be limited by a strict budget.

Dennis Sochor is scheduled to be put to death later today, making history as the oldest inmate to ever be executed in the state.

The criminal, who has been on death row for nearly 40 years, will be administered the lethal three-drug injection, with the process due to begin at around 6pm.

But his infamous 'final meal' will be limited by a strict $40 budget, a rule which was first implemented by the state in 1979.

And it's not the only final meal request rule that has been put in place by the Florida Department of Corrections.

Under their current policy, the meal cannot exceed $40 in total cost, and must be made up of ingredients that can be purchased from local stores.

Fast-food is also prohibited.

The criminal is scheduled to be put to death later today (July 14). (Getty Stock Images)

Sochor was convicted of killing a woman on January 1, 1982, just hours after meeting her at a New Year’s Eve party.

Patty Gifford, 18, was celebrating with a friend at a popular South Florida bar, the Banana Boat, when she was approached by Sochor and his brother.

They spent several hours talking before her friend became ill and went to sleep in her car.

The 18-year-old went onto leave the party with Sochor and his sibling, but instead of going to get food as the three had originally planned, they stopped their truck in a remote location.

It's reported that the murderer attacked Gifford when she refused to have sex with him.

Patty Gifford was just 18 when she was murdered following New Year's Eve celebrations. (Patty Gifford's family)

But Sochor wasn't arrested until May 1986, more than four years on from the horrifying murder.

Broward County Sheriff's Lt. Mark Schlein told the South Florida Sun Sentinel in 1983: "The only mistake she made was going out with friends and celebrating New Year's Eve.

"She was a young and beautiful girl, with everything to live for, it's a real tragedy."

In appeals over the years, Sochor has argued that the state has no evidence that Gifford is dead because her body hasn't been found, which the court has rejected.

Speaking with the outlet in 1983, Marilyn Gifford, the victim's mother, added: "It's bad enough what he did to her.

"But he's had all this time to repent, to think about what he did, so why not give her back?"