Florida’s death‑penalty system will conduct its thirteenth execution of 2026 on Tuesday evening at the Florida State Prison near Starke. William Frances Silvia, 61, has been scheduled to receive a three‑drug lethal injection that includes a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart. The execution is set to begin at 6 p.m. local time.
Background of the case
Silvia was convicted of first‑degree murder and attempted first‑degree murder for the 2006 shooting that killed his estranged wife, Patricia Silvia, and wounded her mother, Betty Woodard, at their Orlando‑area home. Court records show Silvia purchased a shotgun that year, traveled to the family’s residence during a cookout, and, after an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile, opened fire on the two women.
He was first sentenced to death after his 2008 trial. An appeal later vacated that sentence due to procedural issues with Florida’s death‑penalty sentencing guidelines. A new penalty phase was granted in 2018, and a second death sentence was imposed.
Legal challenges
Silvia’s defense, provided by the Capital Collateral Regional Counsel—a state agency that represents death‑row inmates—argued that the agency could not give him adequate representation because it was already handling another capital case. The Florida Supreme Court rejected the appeal, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request on Tuesday to halt the execution.
Florida’s execution record
Florida has become the nation’s most active execution state this year. Of the 22 executions carried out across the United States in 2026, Florida accounted for 13, more than half of the total. The state set a modern record in 2025 when it performed 19 executions, the highest number since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
In July 2026, Florida executed two inmates on the same day, the first state to do so in nearly a decade. Two additional executions are scheduled for September: Harold Gene Lucas, 74, on September 1, and Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., 72, on September 10. Lucas was convicted of fatally shooting a 16‑year‑old girl who rejected his advances and wounding two of her friends. Conahan was convicted of kidnapping and strangling a man he had hired to pose for nude photographs, and investigators suspect him in additional homicides from the 1990s.
State policy context
Governor Ron DeSantis, now in his final term, has maintained a firm stance on capital punishment, emphasizing law‑and‑order principles and the rights of victims’ families. The continued use of the death penalty aligns with his administration’s broader criminal‑justice policies, which prioritize strict sentencing and public safety.
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection using a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug that stops the heart, as outlined by the Department of Corrections.
Original reporting: WESH Orlando — read the source article.
