NEW YORK – In a final statement before his execution Tuesday night, Florida death row inmate Michael Zack III said he made no excuses for the crimes he committed, but said he wished he could have had “a second chance, to live out my days in prison and continue to do all I can to make a difference in this world.”
Zack’s request for a stay of his execution in favor of a life in prison is precisely what the state’s Catholic bishops asked Governor Ron DeSantis to consider last month, to no avail.
Zack died by lethal injection, a cocktail administered by the execution team that includes a sedative, paralytic, and a drug to stop his heart.
The drugs were administered at 6:02 and he was pronounced dead by 6:14 p.m., although there were no visible signs of breathing after the first minute.
The family of Ravonne Smith witnessed the execution but chose not to speak with the media following the execution.
When asked if he had any last words, Zack replied, “Yes sir,” lifting his head toward the observation window. “I love you all.”
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty shared a written statement by Zack moments after his execution.
"Twenty-seven years ago, I was an alcoholic and a drug addict. I did things that have hurt a lot of people — not only the victims and their families and friends, but my own family and friends as well," Zack wrote. "I have woken up every single day since then filled with remorse and a wish to make my time here on earth mean something more than the worst thing I ever did.
"When I got to death row, I substituted drugs and alcohol for happiness and positive relationships. I am so grateful to the guys on the row who took the time to teach me how to read and write. They changed my life forever because their love and support allowed me to have pen pals and friends all over the world.John, Susan, Maria, Anna, and David — I treasure you and the unconditional love you have shared with me all these years. The ability to read and write also led me to my beloved wife and soulmate, Ann-Kristin. I will love her for eternity.
"I make no excuses. I lay no blame. But how I wish that I could have a second chance, to live out my days in prison and continue to do all I can to make a difference in this world. To all my brothers on death row,please continue to help each other. Give each other hope and peace. Keep sharing the love and acceptance that you all showed a hillbilly from Kentucky."
Zack ended his statement by speaking directly to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
"And finally, to Governor Desantis and the Clemency Board: I love you. I forgive you. I pray for you."
Zack woke at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, meeting first with his wife, Ann-Kristin, and later in the day with his spiritual advisor. His wife was not allowed to witness the execution, but family did remain outside the prison as it happened.
He declined a last meal, Florida prison officials said.
"Heinous and horrific crimes"
Zack, 54, killed two Florida women, Laura Rosillo and Ravonne Smith, in 1996. Smith was a bar employee he befriended, whom he later beat and stabbed to death with an oyster knife. Days later, he met Rosillo at a bar in a nearby county, invited her to the beach to do drugs, and eventually beat her to death as well. He was sentenced to death for Smith’s murder and to life in prison for Rosillo’s.
In a Sept. 11 letter to DeSantis on behalf of Florida’s eight bishops, Michael Sheedy, the executive director of the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, acknowledged that Zack’s “heinous and horrific crimes against these women have caused untold suffering to their families, friends, and communities,” but argued that intentionally ending his life was “unnecessary.”
As an alternative punishment, Sheedy called for Zack to spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“In taking the life of Mr. Zack, the state will do nothing to restore the victims’ lives. Rather, state-sanctioned killing will only further fuel the growing societal disrespect for the dignity of human life,” Sheedy wrote. “The death penalty merely perpetuates the cycles of violence and vengeance that permeate our culture. Intentionally ending Mr. Zack’s life is unnecessary.”
“In our modern penal system, no one should be executed,” Sheedy said.
Bishop Emeritus Felipe Estévez of St. Augustine and other anti-death penalty advocates gathered outside of Florida State Prison for a vigil for Michael Zack. The vigil was led by the Catholic Mobilizing Network, an organization that advocates against the death penalty nationwide.
“We stand in solidarity with all of those throughout the state of Florida who are holding vigils, protesting, and bearing witness to the sanctity of [Michael Zack’s] life,” the organization said in a statement.
Zack, in his final statement, said that when he committed the crimes 27 years ago, he was an alcoholic and drug addict. He said he has “woken up every single day since then filled with remorse and a wish to make my time here on earth mean something more than the worst thing I ever did.”
Sheedy, in his letter to DeSantis, highlighted the turbulent upbringing Zack endured as further reason to stay the execution. In his youth, Zack endured severe physical and sexual abuse at the hands of his stepfather. In court proceedings, Zack’s defense team presented expert testimony that he suffers from organic brain damage, fetal alcohol syndrome, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
At the age of 3, he was hospitalized after his stepfather force-fed him alcohol and drugs. He was kicked, beaten, and thrown against walls. He was humiliated and tortured for bed-wetting, forced to wear a urine-soaked sheet around his neck, and stand still while his father burned his genitals with a heated spoon. When he was 11, his mother was murdered with an axe, sending Michael into the clutches of the foster care system, which failed Michael even further."
On Oct. 2, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Zack’s appeal for a stay of execution without comment.
In the letter to DeSantis, Sheedy also noted that neuroscientific research shows that traumatic experiences, such as those experienced by Zack as a youth, can have a lasting effect on a child’s developing brain, which can profoundly affect behavior. He added that the circumstances of the case make it clear that Zack “was suffering from an extreme mental or emotional disturbance at the time of his crimes and was acting under extreme duress.”
Zack’s execution was the eighth under DeSantis since 2019, and the sixth this year. There were no executions carried out in the state between 2020 and 2022. However, Florida has the second most inmates on death row in the country after California with 291, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.
DeSantis signed Zack’s death warrant on Aug. 17.
“And finally, to Governor DeSantis and the Clemency Board: I love you. I forgive you. I pray for you,” Zack said at the close of his final statement ahead of his execution.
Zack is the sixth person to be executed in Florida, this year, and the eighth Death Row inmate to be executed under Governor Ron DeSantis.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, nationwide, prisoners executed during 2020 had been on death row for an average of 18.9 years.
In Florida, several decades often pass from the time of sentencing to their execution. According to the Florida Department of Corrections, on average, those on death row have been there for nearly 23 years, with some having been there more than 30 years and one of the longest-serving death row inmates having been there more than 46 years.
Opponents to the death penalty, including the Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, were on hand to witness the execution.
"Tonight, We the People of the State of Florida, killed our sixth citizen this year - Michael Zack - known as “Zack” to his lawyers and pen friends, as “Bubba” to his sisters, and as “Hillbilly” to his fellow men on death row. Michael’s life began with violence and now, at the hands of the State of Florida, has ended in violence," FADP wrote immediately after the execution.
"Michael has spent more than half of his life on Florida’s death row. Those 27 years sadly have been the most stable, productive, and safest period in Michael’s life – a place where he has found faith, love, friendship, education, and the stability that he was so cruelly denied in his early years."
Zack is the 105th person to be executed in Florida since 1976, when the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment.
