Florida Executes 72-Year-Old Death Row Inmate Amid Record Pace of Executions

Strategic Insights -

The state of Florida continues its record pace of executions with the lethal injection of Samuel Smithers, a 72-year-old death row inmate convicted of the 1996 murders of two women, Christie Cowan and Denis Roach. Smithers is the 14th death-row inmate executed in Florida this year, breaking the state's previous high of eight set in 2014. He is also the oldest person to be executed by Florida in the modern era. The execution occurred despite opposition from anti-capital punishment advocates, who argued that executing Smithers would constitute "cruel and unusual punishment" due to his advanced age.

Key Takeaways:

  • Samuel Smithers, a 72-year-old man, was executed by lethal injection in Florida for the 1996 murders of two women, Christie Cowan and Denis Roach.
  • Smithers is the 14th death-row inmate executed in Florida this year, setting a new record for the state, which previously had eight executions in 2014.
  • He is also the oldest person to be executed by Florida in the modern era since the state resumed executions in 1976.
  • Smithers' defense lawyers argued that executing him was "cruel and unusual punishment" due to his advanced age, an argument rejected by the Florida courts.
  • The U.S. Supreme Court denied Smithers' final appeal hours before his execution.
  • The anti-capital punishment group USA and Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty opposed Smithers' execution, stating that he was an "elderly man whose continued cognitive decline over his 30 years on death row was medically documented."
  • Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defended the execution, stating that Smithers was "literally an axe murderer" convicted and sentenced to death for killing two women.
  • Smithers was convicted and sentenced to death in 1999 for the murders, which took place in 1996.
  • DNA and surveillance footage linked Smithers to the crime, and he confessed to killing both women after providing authorities with inconsistent statements.

Statistics:

  • 37 executions have taken place in the United States so far this calendar year.
  • Florida has executed 14 death-row inmates this year, breaking the state's previous high of eight set in 2014.
  • 2 more executions are scheduled in Florida this year.
  • Lance Shockley, a 46-year-old Missouri man, was also executed on the same day as Smithers for the 2005 murder of a state highway patrol officer.

Sources:

  • UPI (no date), Oct. 15
  • Florida Department of Corrections (no date), statement
  • Court documents (1999), trial of Samuel Smithers
  • USA and Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (no date), statement