Florida Carries Out Its First Execution of 2026

A man convicted of killing a traveling salesman during a robbery was executed Tuesday evening in Florida, marking the state’s first lethal injection of the year.

Ronald Palmer Heath, 64, was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke, according to the Associated Press. Heath was convicted in 1990 of first-degree murder, robbery with a deadly weapon, and other charges in the 1989 killing of Michael Sheridan.

The execution comes after Florida carried out a record 19 executions in 2025. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis authorized more executions last year than any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated nationwide in 1976. The previous record had been eight executions in 2014.

The Florida Supreme Court rejected Heath’s latest appeals last week. His attorneys argued that the state had mishandled its execution protocols, that the clemency process lacked transparency and fairness, that Heath’s time in juvenile incarceration affected his development, and that the jury had not unanimously recommended the death penalty. On Tuesday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court also denied his appeal.

Nationwide, 47 people were executed in 2025. Florida had the highest number, followed by Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas with five executions each. Two more executions are already scheduled in Florida: Melvin Trotter, 65, is set for Feb. 24, and Billy Leon Kearse, 53, is scheduled for March 3. According to the Florida Department of Corrections, the state uses a three-drug lethal injection process consisting of a sedative, a paralytic agent, and a drug that stops the heart.

Court records show that Heath and his brother, Kenneth Heath, met Sheridan at a Gainesville bar in May 1989. Investigators said the brothers later planned to rob him and drove him to a remote location. Sheridan was killed during the encounter. Kenneth Heath was also charged in the case but received a life sentence as part of a plea agreement.

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