Florida Carries Out 13th Execution of Year, Nearly Double Rest of U.S.

Florida carried out its 13th execution of the year Tuesday, putting to death William Silvia, a 61-year-old man convicted of murdering his estranged wife. The execution by lethal injection, conducted at the Florida State Prison in Raiford, brings the state's total to nearly double the seven executions recorded in the rest of the United States this year.

Silvia was found guilty in 2008 of first-degree murder for the 2006 shooting death of his wife, Patricia Silvia, and the attempted murder of his mother-in-law, Betty Woodward. Court records indicate Silvia purchased a shotgun and went to Woodward's home during a barbecue, where he shot Woodward before killing his wife after an attempted reconciliation.

Florida has become a national leader in capital punishment, executing 19 individuals in 2025, a modern record. Governor Ron DeSantis, who is nearing the end of his term, has signed 15 execution orders this year and has indicated no intention to slow the pace. Two more executions are scheduled for September: Harold Gene Lucas on the 1st and Daniel Conahan on the 10th.

Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) had urged DeSantis to commute Silvia's sentence to life without parole. The state's high rate of executions follows a period where the U.S. saw three executions in a single day on August 15, the first time since 2010.