Category: Florida

Death in Florida


Ron De Santis continues his campaign of executions

March 2026

We have recently drawn attention to individual executions being carried out in Florida as part, it is claimed, of governor De Santis’s desire to show he is tough on crime. Florida is known as the ‘sunshine state’ but a pall is cast over it by the list of people put to death or who are scheduled to be executed. The sunshine is dimmed. The US is currently bombing Iran as part of a campaign who’s objectives are not that clear but involve death and destruction of many Iranians. De Santis, along with President Trump, seems to think that violence is some kind of an answer to problems.

Florida executed 19 people in 2025 – the highest number in modern history (Source: Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.). The state contributed 40% of executions in USA and was around one every 12.26 days – [13th February to 18th December 2025]. In the current rush to carry out executions there is an average 30 day warrant period. People sometimes forget that many spend decades on death row which is typically 33 years from offence to execution.

The list of executions in 2025:

Note UK date format day/month/year

· James Ford 13.2.25

· Edward James 20.3.25

· Michael Tanzi 8.4.25

· Jeffrey Hutchinson 1.5.25

· Glen Rogers 15.5.25

· Anthony Wainwright 10.6.25

· Thomas Gudinas 24.6.25

· Michael Bell 15.7.25

· Edward Zakrzewski 31.7.25

· Kayle Bates 19.8.25

· Curtis Windom 28.8.25

· David Pittman 17.9.25

· Victor Jones 30.9.25

· Samuel Smithers 14.10.25

· Norman Grim 28.10.25

· Bryan Jennings 13.11.25

· Richard Randolph 20.11.15

· Mark Geralds 9.12.25

· Frank Walls 19.12.25

An important issue in considering the system in the state is convictions are often based on non-unanimous juries – 8 out of 12 – allowing significant doubt among jurors. There should be a high degree of unanimity by the jury if someone is to be executed not one that allows a considerable degree of uncertainty.

Unusually among states, the governor has sole authority to schedule executions. Since the governor is committed to the use of the penalty for – it is alleged – to promote his desire to be the next president of the Union, this is a doubtful power to confer on one man. They also want to widen the scope of crimes carrying the penalty. Legislation tightening immigration laws eg mandating death penalty for ‘unauthorised aliens’ convicted of certain capital crimes is planned.

As we discussed in detail in our last post, there are many ethical and constitutional concerns about the process of

execution itself and the use of expired drugs, incorrect dosages, and use of non-listed drugs. Numbers of prisoners on death row have filed claims with the US Supreme Court that the State repeatedly violated its own execution protocol amid an unprecedented execution spree. They have raised the fact that Florida is the only State to include a paralytic medication in its three-drug execution protocol. This means witnesses are unable to see any physical signs of distress. Ronald Heath and Melvyn Trotter have presented evidence showing the use of expired drugs, incorrectly prepared and incomplete dosages, drugs not authorised by the protocol, and documentation not completed at the time. (Source: FADP.)

The current year 2026 to date:

Executions – 2

· Ronald Palmer Heath– 10.2.26

· Melvyn Trotter -24.2.26 – Court in first trial mishandled aggravating factors but re-sentenced to death; claims re: drugs as above.

Scheduled – 3

· Billy Leon Kearse – 3.3.26 – 18 at the time of crime (killing Enforcement Officer) with intellectual disability

· Michael Lee King – 17.3.26 – convicted of murder. At 6, severe frontal lobe injury following accident – neuropsychological testing and brain imaging revealed structural abnormalities affecting his executive functioning. Full details were never adequately presented to sentencing jury.

· James Duckett – 31.3.26 – sentenced to death by 8:4 jury.

There is an irony that the US is engaged in a war in Iran against a regime President Trump regards as viscous and [to be] terrible people. He is angry – often speaking from his Florida home – about how the Ayatollahs treat their people which includes a heavy use of the death penalty. Yet the very same state is busy executing a record number of people often in a rushed and unsatisfactory fashion. Does not Trump have his own Ayatollah on the doorstep?

It is worth repeating that there is no evidence that the penalty is a deterrent. A recent report by the Death Penalty Information Center discusses this. It points out for example that when states have abol­ished the death penal­ty, mur­der rates have not fol­lowed any con­sis­tent pat­tern of change. Rates in states that for­mer­ly retained the death penal­ty fol­low nation­al trends rather than spik­ing or falling after abolition. Earlier research by the National Academies also expresses doubt and does not find conclusive evidence of effectiveness.

The penalty involves the state using violence against an individual. A fundamental problem is that mistakes cannot be put right. Once executed someone cannot be brought back to life if new evidence emerges. The state has an unenviable history of mistakes. Those in line for execution cannot afford expensive or experienced lawyers and as Clive Stafford Smith has described in his books, it may well be the the first murder trial a defence {defense} attorney has carried out. Unlike the UK for example which has passed laws* to ensure the defence has all the evidence, no such law exists in Florida.

The most damning judgement is that if the allegations are true, then the penalty is being used for a political purpose: that is to demonstrate that the governor is ‘tough on crime’ as part of his desire to be president of the US.

*Police and Criminal Evidence Act introduced after several miscarriages of justice.

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Amnesty is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances. The group publishes a monthly report on the penalty around the world (see the link above for the most recent).

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This month’s Death Penalty report


Report for mid – February to mid – March

March 2026

We are pleased to attach this month’s report on the use of the death penalty around the world thanks to group member Lesley for the work in compiling it. It features several US states, Iran, Israel and India. We note as ever that China is thought to be the world’s largest executioner of its citizens but details are a state secret.

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Another execution in Florida


Billy Kearse executed on Tuesday in Florida’s killing spree

March 2026

Florida is proceeding apace with its execution programme (program) and Billy Kearse was executed on Tuesday 3rd March 2026. Florida seems to have overtaken Texas as the state keenest to use the penalty. Questions have been raised about the use of the drugs and the secrecy of the process.

Supreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor has alleged that the state has failed to follow the protocols which raised the possibility that the executions would violate the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution by causing additional and unnecessary pain and suffering.

This seems to be backed up by evidence produced by The Independent Florida Alligator which has published details of the ages of the drugs used showing that some had expired. The article suggests that the state’s protocol consists only of ‘two sentences’. However, the protocol we have found is longer than that at 14 pp. It is worth reading this as it is ghoulish to read the process of putting someone to death. A remorseless list of actions setting out what is to be done, before, during and after execution.

The Secretary of the Florida Dept. of Corrections, Ricky Dixon, said ‘the foremost objective of the lethal injection process is a humane and dignified death’ (18 February 2025). This must be questioned if out of date drugs are used. Indeed, the protocol says ‘the designated team member will ensure that the lethal chemicals have not reached or surpassed their expiration date’ (rule 6).

Sources: The Independent Florida Alligator, WCADP, Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Death Penalty Information Center, Florida Dept. Corrections.

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Executions continue at pace in Florida


Governor De Santis breaking records in Florida

March 2026

On this day when it has been reported that the death toll in the US/Israel school bombing in Iran has risen to 148 with a further 95 injured, it may seem contrary to mention the death penalty in Florida. Governor De Santis is hell bent on his execution spree with 5 new death sentences so far this year following on from the record 19 executions in 2025. They are related in the sense that violence is seen as a solution to problems. The US is the only nation in the Americas to have the death penalty in some states. Bombing or putting to death: it seems to be part of some politician’s thinking that such violence is a cure or a solution. It appears to give them a sense of accomplishment. Yet in truth it solves nothing.

The death penalty in the state has many dubious characteristics. As Clive Safford-Smith has noted in his book – Life and Death in the Court Rooms of America for example – the justice system for those without financial means works imperfectly. Injustice in these circumstances is bad enough but when it leads to the death of an individual it is unconscionable. Police do not always disclose all the evidence which might exonerate the accused. Only eight out of 12 jurors are needed for a guilty verdict.

Latest execution this Tuesday (3rd March)

The latest scheduled execution is Billy Kearse (pictured). The murder of Sgt. Parrish devastated his family and the Fort Pierce community. Nothing about our opposition to this execution diminishes that loss. Still, Billy is a person with intellectual disability who was just 18 years and 84 days old at the time of the crime, which is exactly why three Florida Supreme Court Justices said his was “clearly not a death case.” Basic decency and the rule of law demand we take that seriously.

Ron De Santis is a keen proponent of the death penalty saying “I think we’re in a good spot now, and I want to make sure that people (Death Row inmates) that have exhausted all these appeals over many years, sometimes decades, like when all that’s done …, and there’s victims’ families that are wanting to see justice, that I’m doing my part to deliver that,”

House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, acknowledged she might sound “cynical,” but she indicated the increase in De Santis signing death warrants could be tied to his political ambitions.

“What we’ve seen from this governor, and past behavior is oftentimes a predictor of where future behavior might go, this is a governor who’s been so focused on his own ambitions, his personal ambitions, he wants to impress Republican primary voters,” Driskell said Monday during a conference call with reporters. [Source: WUSF]

De Santis wants executions to be carried out quickly believing that they will act as a “strong deterrent”. There is no evidence that the death penalty is a deterrent and there is little difference in murder rates between states with the penalty and those without. Florida has the highest level of exonerations of all states in the Union.

Sources: Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, https://www.wusf.org, Hoodline, Jacksonville

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Imminent execution of ‘Ronnie’ Heath


Appeal for clemency in Florida

January 2026

Florida plans to execute Ronald “Ronnie” Heath on February 10, despite overwhelming evidence that execution would serve no purpose of justice, fairness, or accountability. Ronnie has spent nearly 35 years on death row for the murder of Michael Sheridan, a devastating crime that ended a human life and caused immeasurable harm to the people who loved him. Nothing in this request diminishes that loss or the gravity of the violence that occurred.

Ronnie has endured decades of incarceration, survived extreme trauma, and demonstrated profound growth and change. Meanwhile, his equally culpable co-defendant — his own brother — is alive, incarcerated, and now eligible for parole. Clemency exists for cases exactly like this: when punishment has become disproportionate, when juries never heard critical life-shaping evidence, when modern science changes how we understand culpability, and when execution would only compound harm rather than serve justice.

The Governor and Florida’s Clemency Board have the power and the responsibility to stop this execution. Your letter can help make that difference.

The above text by Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. The petition to sign can be accessed from this link.

FADP is a Florida-based, state-wide organization working to end the death penalty in Florida. Their network includes dozens of state and local groups and thousands of individual Floridians, including murder victims’ family members and other survivors of violent crime, law enforcement professionals, families of the incarcerated, and death row exonerees. 

Amnesty is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances. It is not a deterrent and mistakes, which are not infrequent, cannot afterwards be rectified. We deprecate what appears to be the Florida state governor, Ron DeSantis using the penalty to demonstrate he is ‘tough on crime’ as part of his alleged desire to be the next president of the USA.

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Florida kicks the year off with an execution


Florida continues its record breaking run

January 2026

Last night (January 10th), Governor DeSantis signed the first execution warrant of 2026. Ronald Palmer Heath is scheduled to be executed at 6 pm on Tuesday, February 10th for the 1989 murder of Michael Sheridan in Alachua County. Last year saw a record number of executions in Florida exceeding all others in the US. Several US papers refer to the killings as a ‘spree’.

If the execution proceeds, it will mark the 28th execution under Gov. Ron DeSantis — part of an unprecedented escalation in Florida’s use of the death penalty. The murder of Michael Sheridan was a tragedy, and his loss is still being grieved to this day. But, killing Ronnie will not bring Michael back.

It seems to be part of the Governor’s desire to show he’s tough on crime and help in his desire to become president.

Amnesty is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances. It is not a deterrent. Mistakes, and there are many, cannot be rectified. The justice system in the State is less than satisfactory and the jury in this case was split on the subject of execution.

Source: Floridians Against the Death Penalty and AP. On the FADP site there is the opportunity to sign a petition. We are grateful to FADP for some of the text used in this post.

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Latest death penalty report


January 2026

We are pleased to attach the latest death penalty report thanks to group member Lesley for the work in compiling it. Florida is a feature this month with the rapid increase in the number of executions. Saudi has executed a huge number of people – almost one a day. We note as ever that China executes more of its people than the rest of the world combined but details are a state secret.

Mid December to mid January. WordDownload
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Death penalty in Florida


Surge in death sentences in the ‘Sunshine State’

January 2026

Florida is carving out for itself an unenviable reputation as the state with the worst record for executions in America. The US is the only country in the Americas to retain the penalty in some states at least and under Governor DeSantis, Florida is rapidly increasing the numbers heading for execution.

There is an organisation Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) which is seeking to end the use of the penalty in the state and is campaigning for that to happen. They have recently published a report ‘We the People’ – the opening words of the US Constitution – and this post draws largely on that.

It is 10 years ago we drew attention the legal process in the US and the work of the British lawyer, Clive Stafford-Smith who has campaigned for many years on behalf of those on death row. He wrote a book called Injustice and we discussed aspects from it in that post. Essentially the process is profoundly flawed which is of life and death importance to those caught up in it. Evidence favourable to the defendant is not always released to the defence and lawyers are sometimes ill-equipped to carry out trials of such importance.

If anything the situation has got worse. The rule now is that only 8 out of 12 jurors are needed for a conviction which clearly means those who have misgivings are ignored. Sex trafficking has been added to the list of crimes subject to the penalty which will increase the incentive to silence victims thus making the situation worse not better.

Another disturbing feature is that seven of the 19 who were executed were veterans and clearly indicates that these are not people who could be termed ‘the worst of the worst’. They may be disturbed as a result of their service – in Afghanistan for example – and execution is not an answer.

Barbaric and ineffective

With Florida responsible for 40% of the nations executions there is something happening quite outside any increase in criminality. It seems that the Governor, Ron DeSantis is a keen proponent signing orders almost as soon as the jury has left the court. It is suggested that this rise in executions is part of his drive to show he is ‘tough on crime’ and his desire to be the next President. Yet as we have pointed out on many occasions, there has been no evidence of the penalty having a deterrent effect. It is as barbaric as it is ineffective.

FADP reports that the executions take place in remote parts of the state possibly to discourage media reporting which seems curious in view of the Governor’s desire to show toughness.

The group produces a report on the death penalty around the world each month.

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Steep rise in Florida executions


Darkness seems to reign in the Sunshine state

November 2025

UPDATE: 21 November. Randolph was executed yesterday making it the 17th in the state. Further background can be read in a Tallahassee Democrat post. There is also material on Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty FADP.

There has been a big increase in executions in Florida – 15 so far this year and another one due to take place today (20 November) of Richard Barry Randolph. This compares with 1 last year and a downward trend in the US as a whole. The reason for this surge is hard to determine but much of the US media and opinion seems to point to the Governor Ron DeSantis. It is alleged that this sudden surge is part of his campaign to run for president in 2028 at the end (?) of the Trump era.

There are many troubling aspects about the executions. Florida is almost unique in allowing the governor

to have the final decision. Other states now leave this to the judiciary. But there is also disquiet about the secrecy of the decision making process. ‘Florida’s gov­er­nor has no cri­te­ria, pro­ce­dure, or guide­lines in place for select­ing who lives and who dies…Granting the gov­er­nor unfet­tered dis­cre­tion has, in prac­tice, led to a com­plete­ly arbi­trary process for deter­min­ing who lives and who dies‘ [attorney for Thomas Gudinas]. De Santis has offered no explanation for this sudden increase in executions.

High level of mistakes

Anyone who has read Clive Stafford-Smith’s book Injustice will know the inefficient court process in the US particularly for poor people. The level of mistakes in the state is high. Since 1989 there have been no less than 93 individuals wrongfully convicted and exonerated. Needless to say, if someone has already been executed it’s a mistake that cannot be rectified.

The judicial process seems to offer little confidence with 6 or the seven justices on the Florida Supreme Court appointed by the governor. The jury system has been altered so that only 8 out of the 12 jurors is needed for a guilty verdict. The results are clear to see with 35% of those on death row are Black whereas they represent only 17% of the population.

There is no evidence that the death penalty is a deterrence. As we have noted, mistakes cannot be afterwards rectified. It would appear that this sudden rise is due to the Governor’s desire to raise his credibility with a view to the presidential election in 2028. As the Palm Beach Post notes, ‘the system is riddled with issues ..’ (18 November).

Sources: Palm Beach Post, WUSF, The Conversation, Guardian, FADP

See our monthly Death Penalty Report

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September 2025 Death Penalty Report: Key Insights


Full report for mid August to mid September

September 2025

We are pleased to attach the latest death penalty report for the above period thanks for the work put in by group member Lesley in compiling it. Contains extensive information from the US where the appetite for executions seems to be increasing in some states. Florida for example is the leading state at the moment. We have to caution as ever that China executes more of its citizens than the rest of the world combined but information is a state secret.

Sharifa Mohamadi sentenced to death in Iran for her human rights work.

Report August – September (Word)Download
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