Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant on Tuesday, setting the date for the execution of Willie Seth Crain, an 80‑year‑old convicted child molester found guilty in the 1998 disappearance and death of 7‑year‑old Amanda Brown in Hillsborough County. Brown’s body has never been recovered.
Execution Schedule and State Context
Crain is slated to be put to death on Dec. 10 at Florida State Prison in Raiford. The state has already carried out 19 executions this year, matching the record set the previous year and marking the highest annual total since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.
Other Pending Executions
Before Crain’s execution, the state plans to execute Thomas Mitchell Overton, 71, on Nov. 19 for the 1992 murders of a Tavernier couple, and Richardo Gonzalez, 56, on Dec. 1 for killing North Miami Beach police officer Steven Bauer during a 1992 bank robbery.
Opposition and Calls for a Pause
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, citing two exonerees who previously sat on Florida’s death row, urged Governor‑elect Byron Donalds to pause executions. Jeff Hood, a spiritual advisor to several executed inmates, wrote a letter asking for a six‑month moratorium and an independent review of the pace, procedures, and human cost of capital punishment.
In March, Donalds responded to questions about his stance on the death penalty, stating that “criminals will not run our communities” and pledging that “violent criminals swiftly face the full weight of justice.”
Details of the 1998 Crime
According to court records, Crain was introduced to Amanda Brown by her mother, Kathryn Hartman, after meeting her at a Hillsborough County bar. Crain spent the night at Hartman’s trailer, where he ate dinner and played with the child before they all watched a movie together. The next morning, both Crain and Brown were missing. When Hartman contacted Crain, he claimed he was loading his boat at a landing and did not know Brown’s whereabouts.
Investigators believe Crain disposed of Brown’s body in Old Tampa Bay, an area where he set crab traps as a commercial fisherman. Prosecutors presented evidence of Brown’s blood in Crain’s bathroom and on his boxer shorts.
Legal History
Crain was previously convicted in 1985 of sexual battery on a child. In November 1999, he received a death sentence for Brown’s murder and a life sentence for her kidnapping, with the jury unanimously recommending the death penalty. He appealed in 2000, arguing insufficient evidence of premeditation, improper jury instructions, and constitutional issues with the death penalty. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed his convictions and sentences in 2004.
Original reporting: Tampa Bay Florida News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
