Florida carried out another execution this Tuesday by lethal injection, marking the sixth execution in the state this year. The sentence was carried out for Michael Duane Zack III, aged 54, in relation to the 1996 killings of two women along the Florida Panhandle on the state’s northeastern coast. The Florida State Penitentiary in Raiford reported the prisoner was pronounced dead at 18:14 local time (22:14 GMT) after the lethal injection. The order for execution had been signed last August by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican.
When asked to speak his last words, Zack responded with a simple, “Yes, sir,” lifting his head toward the observation window and telling witnesses, “I love you all,” according to Pensacola News Daily.
Sixth execution in Florida this year
The execution comes after the Court of Appeals declined to stay the death sentence despite the convicted man’s alleged mental incapacity.
The arrest and indictment trace back to 1996, when the two victims, Laurie Rosillo and Ravonne Smith, were killed during a crime spree in the Florida Panhandle. Zack was found guilty of first degree murder in both cases in September 1997, along with related charges of armed robbery and sexual assault. Legal teams representing those sentenced to death could not prevail in appeals alleging PTSD and intellectual disability as grounds for relief.
The morning before the execution, Zack’s wife visited his cell at Florida State Prison, where he rose at 5:30 local time (09:30 GMT). He met with a spiritual advisor after the wife’s visit. Reports indicate he did not receive a last meal request for this occasion.
Floridians for an Alternative to the Death Penalty filed a clemency petition to Governor DeSantis, signed by nearly 200 religious leaders from around the world, seeking commutation to life in prison without parole. Earlier, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit rejected a stay request from his lawyers, who had argued the prisoner suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome.
This execution represents the 105th carried out in Florida since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Florida Department of Corrections records show there are about 300 inmates on death row, with three of them women.
Eighth execution under Governor DeSantis
This marks the eighth execution during DeSantis’s tenure, during which a judicial reform allowed capital punishment to be imposed by a simple majority rather than unanimity in some cases. The policy shift has been a prominent talking point in political discussions surrounding the governor and the state’s governor election campaigns. Former President Donald Trump remains a leading figure among conservative voters according to polls.
Since 1973, more than a hundred and ninety people have been exonerated from death row across the United States. Florida has the highest count, with thirty inmates released from the death penalty, followed by Illinois and Texas.
The standard lethal protocol in Florida for executions uses a three-drug cocktail. Etomidate serves as the anesthetic, rosuronium bromide acts as a paralyzing agent, and potassium acetate is the chemical that stops the heart. A saline injection follows to ensure the drugs enter the veins.
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