Florida Executes Man Who Killed Cop With His Own Gun

A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with the officer’s own service weapon during a traffic stop was executed Tuesday evening in Florida. The execution marked the third carried out by the state this year, following a record 19 executions in 2025.

Billy Leon Kearse, 53, was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m. after receiving a three-drug lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He had been sentenced to death for the 1991 killing of Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish.

According to court records, Parrish stopped Kearse in January 1991 after spotting him driving the wrong way on a one-way street. When Kearse could not provide a valid driver’s license, Parrish ordered him out of the vehicle and attempted to handcuff him. A struggle followed, during which prosecutors say Kearse grabbed Parrish’s firearm and fired multiple shots. Parrish was struck several times, including hits to his body armor.

A nearby taxi driver heard the gunfire and used the officer’s radio to call for help. Parrish was taken to a hospital but later died. Police were able to track down Kearse using license plate information Parrish had reported during the traffic stop, leading to his arrest at home.

Kearse was first convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm in 1991 and was sentenced to death. The Florida Supreme Court later ruled that jurors had not received certain information about aggravating circumstances and ordered a new sentencing hearing. In 1997, Kearse was again sentenced to death.

In the hours leading up to Tuesday’s execution, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Kearse’s final appeal without comment. The Florida Supreme Court had denied earlier appeals filed by his attorneys last week.

Two additional executions are scheduled in Florida later this month. Michael Lee King is set to be executed on March 17 for the 2008 kidnapping and killing of a mother of two. Former police officer James Duckett is scheduled for execution on March 31 for the 1987 killing of an 11-year-old girl.

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