the controversial decision causing tension between st. pete city leaders and its religious community. sects left to live. a serious killer finally being executed. tonight the final moments that three bay area families have been waiting for three decades in the making. good evening. thanks for joining us. i'm wendy ryan. >> and i'm jamison mueller. the convicted killer being put to death by a lethal injection as we speak. >> michael paluska is live tonight monitoring the scene outside of the florida state prison. michael. >> reporter: wendy, jamison, a short time ago a couple protesters showed up at the florida state prison. some holding signs. one guy with a guitar started playing it. hoping for a stay of execution for oscar ray bolin. we have not heard anything from the governor's office. as we're being told, this is starting right now at 6:00.

bolin was found guilty ten times by ten juries, bolin has never apologized or admitted guilt. the three women were all found stabbed and beaten to death. the evidence against bolin overwhelming. bolin even admitted to his wife that he killed the women. but authorities say she never came forward. a tip in 1990 led investigators to bolin serving time in iowa for a kidnapping and rape. abc action news sat down with bolin 20 years ago. >> did you commit the murders you're accused of. >> i had nothing to do with those murders. nothing at all. >> reporter: the family members we spoke with told us that the until he even admits to the murders of those three women, they will never even start the process of forgiving him. carson chambers is inside the chambers right now. we will hear from her if he

we will have a wrap-up tonight at 11:00. michael paluska, abc action news. >> thank you, michael. meanwhile family members of bolin's victims are expected to speak after his death tomorrow night. we will bring you their comments live on our website right here on abcactionnews.com and on our free mobile app. jamison. >> now to a controversy brewing in st. petersburg. the mayor's office refusing to give a key to the city of the mlk speaker. some say it's disrespectful and others say it's the right thing to do. rodney unraveling the controversy for us. >> reporter: bryant's teachings are devicive and trying to bring the community together no matter the background. a number of pastors believe that bryant's teachings are simply facts coming straight from the good book.

does not in fact show itself in the church is a lie. >> reporter: this clip gives you a sense of baltimore pastor bryants teachings. >> homosexuality is not the only sin. but it is a sin. >> reporter: despite what some of the gay community call he was eastbound sited to be the key note speaker at the mlk breakfast in st. pete. >> it is the value and goals to be inclusive of everybody. >> reporter: the liaison between the lbgt community and the mayor's office believe that the words are far from christian. >> the fact that he said what he said and alienated our community members does not help.

>> uses words like shall die. they're straightforward. >> reporter: they're pushing the mayor to honor bryant with a key to the sit other he. >> pastor bryant's remarks go against the grain of our vision for the city and they certainly go against some of the remarks and sentiments of dr. king himself. >> we have to remember that the bible is very controversial. and to, you know, seek somebody who is not, who would that be. >> reporter: on a side note, saint petersberg's mayor will attend the breakfast despite the controversy. now the key to the city. of the city says not everyone will receive this honor. it only goes to people who have really made an impact in st. petersburg or across the country and they do not believe

honor. >> right now tampa city council ladders will take action on the growing number of sexual predators in the community. there are at least 75 living near this woman's house in the neighborhood. council members saying today they will look into enforcing a county ordinance that prohibits the clustering of sex offenders. if not they will look to create a new city ordinance. a report is due back january 18th. major problems how veterans claims were handled at the v.a. office in st. petersburg. adam joins us now with what happened to the documents and how they created big back logs. adam. >> reporter: wendy, this report says the v.a. was slow, sloppy and didn't hold a contractor accountable in handling veterans claims materials. that meant increased delays and raised the risk that material

they're telling me they can't locate the paperwork. >> reporter: we first introduced you to mark last march. he has spent years submitting the same documents over and over to the veterans office. trying to get a claim approved for a service related injury that he says he suffered in vietnam. >> they're going on and on and on with this incompetence. >> reporter: inspector general report released wednesday identified problems with how the regional office handles documents submitted by veterans. boxes were found of paperwork from the st. pete office. some container sensitive information when they arrived at the scanning facility operated by government contractor. >> our scanning capability allows us to scan and process 1.8 million images a day.

packages of veterans claims materials. most of the packages had been sent at least 30 days earlier resulting in delays in claims processing. >> i have begged and pled are the secretary to fix this. congress has provided every resource that he asked for. 700 new employees. the truth is while they were making some improvements this report shows we have a long ways to go. >> people die waiting for a claim to be decided. >> reporter: the v.a. has agreed to better organization veterans claims materials and will provide better oversight to the contractor to make sure that scanning is done efficiently and sensitive information is protected. a spokesperson says improvements have already been made at the st. petersburg benefits office since the investigation was completed early last year. i'm adam walser taking action for you. >> thank you, adam.

the polk county school superintendent is now under investigation. associate superintendent greg rivers lodged a complaint against catherine leroy. but the school district is not saying what the complaint was about. both rivers and leroy remain on the job while an outside attorney reviews the complaint. now the most accurate weather team in florida. abc action weather. >> how are you doing, everybody? almost to the weekend. by the weekend, we're going to see big changes in the weather. for that matter, later on tonight we're going to see big changes as this area of rain is going to be rolling in. in fact i think it's actually going to be two. first this and then this. in fact if you look at futurecast throughout the evening, mostly cloudy skies. then after midnight, a few showers roll in. it certainly could be an issue first thing tomorrow morning. then we have to look at what is behind it that rolls in later saturday into sunday. so tonight, mostly cloudy skies after midnight. showers arrive first thing in

of the second round of rain coming up. thank you, dennis. polk county investigators telling us that a mother and father went way too far when punishing their unruely daughter. it included duck tape and a stun gun. ashley and sanchez became frustrated when their 10-year- old daughter wouldn't follow the rules at their workplace. a witness found the girl with her hands duck taped together and another piece over her mouth. during interviews detectives found that she has been shocked at home with a mini taser. >> they were kind of at their wits understand. we understand that parents get frustrated and caregivers get frustrated. but there is a law and it is child abuse and you can't break that law no matter what. >> a woman who lived with the couple described them as good people and defended them to abc action news tonight. ashley and sanchez remain in jail tonight. a major change coming for florida's manatees. federal officials recommending

endangered species list. it came from wildlife managers today. instead of being endangered they would be classified as threatened. the u.s. wildlife service says the current population is over 6,000. the official reclassification could come within a year. concerning news about your child's education. education week ranked florida's school system 30th in the country. this is part of the 20th annual quality counts rankings. florida came in 37th in chance for success and 38th for school finances. but on a positive note, we finished 11th on the achievement index. education week ranked massachusetts the top state for education and nevada was the worst. well, still to come, a heart-stopping sight. a child in diapers spotted driving a big wheel down a bay area highway.

from turning tragic. a florida boy suffers brain damage from a termite treatment. the new regulations to keep anyone else from experiencing the excruciating fate. the buccaneers file the head coach. that is just minutes away in

>> welcome back to a sight in shy russ county that would make any parents' heart stop. a 3-year-old riding his big legal on a major highway. luckily other drivers saw the danger he was facing. we spoke with witnesses who helped to get the little boy to safety. >> reporter: the speed limit between 40 and 55 miles per hour. a little boy decided to try and drive it for himself on his big wheel. >> legal kid looked like bewildered.

show this 3-year-old right after several cars boxed him in. but the little boy wasn't having it and tried driving off again. >> how did he get out here? where did he come from? >> reporter: citrus county deputies say the little boy was able to unlock a door at his home and escape while his father went to the bathroom. wearing just a diaper and a shirt, the little boy made it a quarter a mile away from home on his motorized big wheel. >> this is horrible. i mean, i could not imagine. i really started thinking about my daughter and i couldn't imagine her being out on the highway like that, you know, driving her big wheel. >> reporter: the little boy's father showed up on a bicycle to the scene. deputies didn't charge him but dcf is now investigating. >> the scary part of it, any parent that goes through something like that would just be sick to their stomach. >> reporter: the little boy was not hurt. >> he really -- he escaped a disaster. he really did. in crystal river, jacqueline ingles, abc action news.

that could keep your family safe. state regulators issuing new recommendations to improve the safety of florida's fume gas station industry. as many may remember, it started when this little boy, 10-year-old peyton suffered severe brain damage after his home was fume gated in august. most revolve around training, equipment and reporting requirements. the report recommends electronic verification of required steward ship, training courses, and fume gat oreo owe fumigators must ensure that the home is clear of deadly gas. the ag department is implementing some of the recommendations already. some will require legislative action. this one is important. keep an eye out over the next few days. a botched letter from the irs may end up in your mailbox.

should not throw the letter away. nearly 3 million people are expected to receive an identity protection pin letter with the wrong year listed on it. the letter discuss that an ip pin you should use. it's when you file your 2014 tax return. but they really should say 2015 tax return instead. regardless of the typo, the irs says it is crucial that you hold on to this letter. >> you definitely don't want to throw it away thinking it's a scam. because if you do and you forget to put or don't put that number on your tax return, your return is going to be rejected. >> the irs says the botched letters will be sent out through the rest of the month. now the most accurate weather team in florida. abc action weather. >> well, the weekend is almost here. a lot of folks want to know if they're going to need a jacket out. >> you're going to need an umbrella for a period of time. a jacket for the second half

a little bit of everything. great shot there from the main sail. a lot of clouds out there. showers well off shore. sunshine peeking through as well. today we actually were where we should be. in the low 70s. we're dry right now. there's a lot of rain out to the west. none of this is particularly heavy. certainly not severe. no emergency rooms to. i think we will start seeing the rain after midnight tonight. tomorrow morning's commute across part of the area is going to be wet. temperatures now upper 60s to the lower 70s. mid 60s from downtown up to brooksville with winds not the issue today that they have been the last four to five days. getting a little bit of a break from the wind. although i think it will ramp up again late tomorrow into saturday. mid 60s in tampa under mostly cloudy skies. clearwater and st. pete both clear and 64. so there is that satellite picture. we started off kind of cloudy today across most of the area. then the sunshine came on through. it turned out to be a pretty nice day. now, the afternoon the clouds began to thicken again.

with more clouds than clear. and that cloud cover will just do nothing but thicken overnight. so through 8:00 until midnight, we stay dry. nice evening. you have something planned tonight, no worries about rain. tomorrow morning first thing, while it won't be all that heavy, there will be some scattered showers. i actually think two rounds. the first before 6:00 a.m. the second after 8:00 a.m. and sticking around off and on lot the day. so no it will not be a washout. nothing close to that. but i do think that we will see clouds, a bit of sunshine mixed in. more clouds than sun and an occasional shower at any point in time starting from tomorrow morning to the afternoon. then we get a break tomorrow night, saturday morning. we're mostly clear. clouds quickly thicken by saturday morning. and then we get another round much rain rolling in late saturday evening into early sunday morning. not that strong. nothing severe. but there will be another round of showers. so to time things out for you, you're good the first half of

sandwiched in between, some scattered showers. there may be a few heavy downpours based on our futurecast accumulation totals. there's the band as it comes through. but, again, nothing severe out of this. and then cooler weather returns behind the next front which arrives on saturday night into sunday. and then we see highs in the 60s by the early part of next week. for the boaters, southeast winds at 10 to 15 knots. moderate chop. your sunrise 7:23. 5:51 the sunset. here is a look at the most accurate 7-day forecast. a lot of clouds tomorrow. a bit of sun mixed in. saturday, that rain chance is mostly in the evening into the early morning hours. sunday, probably before sunrise. so you look pretty good most of sunday. look at next week. sunny, much colder. highs in the 60s.

well, folks, buccaneers gm jason lithe said that the firing had to do with lack of wins not dirk cutter's sudden popularity looking for head coaches. that's a half truth. the popularity had a lot to do with it and his friendship with the quarterback. the quality that lithe is looking for in the new head coach fits cutter to a t. >> reporter: what a difference two years make. >> it was obvious he was the right man at the right time for the tampa bay buccaneers. >> reporter: fast forward exactly inform years after brian glacier introduced lovie smith, his brother joel fired him late wednesday night. lovie is the fourth bucs head coach in the last eightaers to be canned. for the glacier family, the reason was simple. >> when you have eight wins in two years, three home wins in two years, i think they have been patient enough. >> reporter: unlike two years ago, gm jason lithe will be in charge of the search for the

he has never hired a head coach in his career. this is what he is looking for. >> you look for a guy who is very authentic, honest, will tell you the truth, not sometimes -- doesn't necessarily mean it's what you want to hear, but what you need to hear. >> reporter: that describes a lot like offensive coordinator cutter. he is a strong candidate to come head coach after his success in developing winston in the front office. >> he is the best offense that we have in tampa bay. done great things with winston. >> reporter: what if a team steals cutter away from the pewter and red? why should a bay come to the bay after all of the recent turnover. >> ownership that is not afraid to spend money. a franchise quarterback. and that's a very strong asset to have. that's one that not many teams can say they have.

bucs, john sabol, abc action sports. >> cutter is reportedly resting after recent hip surgery and all of the defensive coaches have been fired. none of the offensive coaches have been relieved of their duties yet. we're back in a minute and

notice rain chances tomorrow morning will be around. and then another chance on saturday later in the day into early sunday. certainly not a washout but the first half of saturday and the last half of sunday look better. we will see you back here at 11:00.