Executions

Michael Lee King, 54, was put to death by lethal injection Tuesday evening at Florida State Prison in Starke for the 2008 murder of a North Port woman that resulted in changes in state law regarding 911 operators. King was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. by the state Department of Corrections. The announcement came several hours after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his latest application to stay the scheduled execution.

This year, The State of Florida has done something it has never done before, leading the nation in executions. Already in 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the death warrants for 15 death row inmates.

With inmate James Ford scheduled to be put to death Feb. 13, a Charlotte County circuit judge Thursday rejected an argument that the execution should be blocked because Ford had the mental and developmental age of a 14-year-old when he murdered a couple in 1997.The 22-page ruling by Circuit Judge Lisa Porter could be the first in a series of decisions as Ford’s attorneys try to prevent the execution. Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a death warrant on Jan. 10.

The new death penalty law took effect immediately and represents a major change in Florida’s death-penalty system. Lawmakers moved forward with the issue after Nikolas Cruz was sentenced to life in prison last year in the 2018 shooting deaths of 17 students and faculty members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The life sentence came after a jury did not unanimously recommend death.

The Florida Supreme Court on Friday rejected a stay of execution and turned down a series of legal arguments made on behalf of condemned killer Bobby...

Florida is scheduled to execute its next Death Row inmate next month. Gov. Rick Scott signed a new death warrant on Friday setting the execution of...

The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously turned down an appeal by Death Row inmate Cary Michael Lambrix, who is scheduled to be executed Oct. 5...

F lorida executed Thursday evening convicted inmate Mark Asay, breaking the state's year and a half hiatus for the death penalty. Asay was pronounced...

Thursday night, Florida executed Mark Asay, who was declared dead at 6:22 p.m. He broke Florida’s year-and-a-half hiatus for the death penalty as the...

While the state of Florida is set to execute the first person in more than a year and a half, 150 other Death Row inmates await new sentences. The death...