Death Penalty

Dusty Ray Spencer, who was found guilty in the beating death of his wife, Karen, is scheduled to die June 25. The next Florida execution scheduled is for Andrew Lukehart on Tuesday.

Richard Knight was convicted of murder in the June 2002 killings of Odessia Stephens and her young daughter, Hanessia Mullings.

James Ernest Hitchcock received a lethal injection Thursday evening at Florida State Prison for the July 1976 killing of Cynthia Driggers

Chadwick Willacy, 58, received the three-drug injection for the 1990 killing of Marlys Sather. It was the state's fifth execution in 2026 following a record 19 executions last year.

Michael Lee King shot his neighbor in the face and burned her alive in 2008, court records say. The case led to the passing of the Denise Amber Lee Act, which provides better training for 911 operators.

Moments before receiving a lethal injection, Billy Kearse asked for forgiveness from the family of Danny Parrish, whose widow said she found peace after a "long, long 35 years.”

Melvin Trotter was found guilty of the fatal stabbing of the woman in Palmetto in 1986.

Florida executed the condemned killer, Ronald Heath, on Tuesday after he spent nearly four decades on Death Row. He was twice convicted of separate murders 12 years apart, and identified as the suspect in a third murder case that never went to trial.

The conversation starters for "Florida Matters Live & Local" include Florida's execution pace and some Super Bowl talk that has nothing to do with Seahawks and Patriots.

A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer during a traffic stop is set to be Florida’s third execution of 2026.

Ronald Palmer Heath is scheduled to die by lethal injection Feb. 10. According to court records, Heath and his brother robbed and killed a traveling salesman they met a bar in 1989.

Frank Walls' death sentence would be Florida's 19th in 2025, furthering a state record for total executions in a single year. Appeals were still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.