TALLAHASSEE, Florida: There are three executions set to take place in Florida over the next month, including a man convicted of fatally shooting three people and wounding another person, under a death warrant signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Curtis Windom, 59, is set to die by lethal injection Aug. 28 in the state with the highest number of executions this year. Experts say an uptick in executions around the country can be traced to aggressive Republican governors and attorney generals pushing to get through lengthy appeals processes and get executions done.
Also, President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order on his first day back in office to urge prosecutors to seek the death penalty, which may have also fueled the increase, according to John Blume, the director of the Cornell Death Penalty Project.
Windom is scheduled to be killed at Florida State Prison near the city of Starke. He was convicted in 1992 and sentenced to death for the murders of Johnnie Lee, Valerie Davis and Mary Lubin.
Eight other executions have taken place in Florida this year, with a ninth scheduled for Thursday and a 10th scheduled for Aug. 19, all by lethal injection. Edward J. Zakrzewski, II, was convicted of killing his wife and two children in 1994 after she sought a divorce, and Kayle Bates was convicted of killing a woman after abducting her from an insurance office in 1982.
According to court documents, Windom bought a .38-caliber revolver and ammunition in the Orlando area on Feb. 7, 1992. He then tracked down Lee and shot him multiple times over what Windom claimed was a $2,000 debt.
Windom then went to the apartment of Davis, with whom he shared a child, and shot her, officials said. Windom shot another man, who survived, while fleeing the apartment. Davis’ mother, Lubin, was driving home when Windom spotted her and shot her at a stop sign.
The Florida Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court will hear final appeals before the execution.
After Florida, Texas and South Carolina are tied for the highest number of executions, with four each this year. Alabama has executed three people, Oklahoma has killed two, and Arizona, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee each have killed one person.