Lethal Injection

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.

Ronald Palmer Heath was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery with a deadly weapon and other charges in the 1989 killing of Michael Sheridan.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Jan. 9 signed a death warrant for Ronald Heath, 64, who would be the first Florida inmate executed in 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.

Florida law allows capital punishment with a jury recommendation of at least 8-4 in favor of execution, the lowest standard in the nation, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Frank Walls, 58, was convicted in the July 22, 1987, murders of Edward Alger and Ann Peterson, who died of gunshot wounds after Walls broke into their Okaloosa County home, according to court documents.

Mark Geralds became the 18th person put to death in Florida this year, further extending the state's record for total executions in a single year.

Richard Barry Randolph, 63, was sentenced to death for killing his former manager at a Palatka convenience store.

Frank Athen Walls faces a Dec. 18 lethal injection for the murder of a couple during home invasion robbery. Walls would be the 19th person set for execution in Florida in 2025.

Bryan Frederick Jennings, 66, was sentenced to death twice in Brevard County, both of which were reversed on appeal. A final trial in 1986 brought a third death sentence for the murder of Rebecca Kunash.

Mark Allen Geralds, 58, was convicted in the 1989 murder of Tressa Pettibone in Panama City Beach. He is scheduled for lethal injection on Dec. 9.

Mark Geralds, 58, was found guilty in 1990 of first-degree murder, armed robbery, burglary and grand theft auto. A jury unanimously recommended the death penalty.