Florida to execute Samuel Lee Smithers Tuesday
Florida plans to execute 72-year-old Samuel Lee Smithers by lethal injection at 6 p.m. ET on Oct. 14, 2025 at Florida State Prison near Starke for the 1996 murders of Christy Cowan and Denise Roach. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant; the Florida Supreme Court denied an age-based appeal last week, and a U.S. Supreme Court appeal remains pending as the state records its 14th execution of the year, the most in the nation.
Legal
Crime
📌 Key Facts
- Smithers was convicted in 1999 of two first-degree murders; victims were found in a Plant City-area pond in May 1996.
- Execution set for 6 p.m. ET at Florida State Prison; method is a three-drug lethal injection.
- Florida Supreme Court rejected an Eighth Amendment age claim last week; SCOTUS appeal is pending.
- This would be Florida’s 14th execution in 2025, the state’s most in a single year.