Florida executes Frank Walls

Florida executes man convicted of killing airman and girlfriend in 1987 home invasion. Frank Walls, put to death for 1987 double murder, confessed to 3 other killings; state carries out 19th execution of year.

Florida executed a man Thursday convicted of fatally shooting a man and a woman during a home invasion robbery and who later confessed to 3 other killings, marking the state’s 19th execution of the year.

Frank Athen Walls, 58, received a 3-drug injection at about 6 p.m. at the Florida State Prison near Starke and was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m. He was sentenced to death in 1988 after convictions on 2 counts of murder, 2 counts of kidnapping and burglary and theft.

The Florida Supreme Court later overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial. Walls was again convicted and sentenced to death in 1992.

The Associated Press reported that at 6 p.m., the curtain to the death chamber went up. Walls was strapped to a gurney and mostly covered by a blanket. His left arm was extended, and an IV was injected. At the foot of the gurney was a Catholic priest who was seated with his right hand extended toward Walls' lower leg.

Walls gave an apology in a brief statement, Alex Lanfranconi, a spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis, said.

"Good evening, everyone," Walls reportedly said. "I appreciate the opportunity to say what’s on my heart. If any of the members of the family are here, I am sorry for all of the things I did, the pain I caused and all of that you have suffered all these years."

The execution started after Walls issued the statement, and the priest remained next to Walls, appearing to pray.

Court records show Walls broke into a mobile home in the Florida Panhandle belonging to Eglin Air Force Base airman Edward Alger and his girlfriend, Ann Peterson, in July 1987.

After they were tied up, Alger managed to break loose and confront the attacker. Walls cut Alger’s throat and shot him in the head as the airman fought back, then moved to Peterson and shot her as she struggled.

The day after the bodies were found, Walls was arrested after his roommate notified police about his odd behavior.

Investigators searched the home and reported finding items from the crime scene. Walls later confessed to the killings.

Following his conviction, DNA evidence connected Walls to the May 1987 rape and murder of Audrey Gygi. He pleaded no contest, sparing him another trial and a potential death sentence.

Walls also admitted responsibility for the killings of Tommie Lou Whiddon in March 1985 and Cynthia Sue Condra in September 1986 as part of a deal with prosecutors.

His attorneys appealed the convictions in state court, claiming he should be disqualified from execution because of his intellectual disability and other medical issues. However, last week, the Florida Supreme Court ruled against Walls.

The U.S. Supreme Court also denied his request for a stay of execution on Thursday afternoon.

Walls woke up at about 5:10 a.m. Thursday, and, according to corrections department spokesperson Jordan Kirkland, he remained compliant.

Officials did not say whether any family members of the victims would attend the execution.

46 men have been executed by court order so far in the U.S. this year, and more than a dozen others are scheduled to be put to death next year.

The Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, and, since, then the most executions Florida had carried out in a single year was 8 in 2014.

Florida has executed more individuals this year than any other state, followed by Alabama, South Carolina and Texas with 5 each.

Florida’s lethal injections use a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.

— Walls becomes the 19th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Florida, and the 125th overall since the state resumed capital punishment on May 25, 1979. Only Texas (596) and Oklahoma (12), have carried out more executions since the US Supreme Court allowed states to start sentencing people to death via the July 2, 1976 Gregg v Georgia decision.

— Walls becomes the 47th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA, and the 1,654th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. This is the highest total in a single year of US executions since 2009, when 52 executions were carried out.

Source: The Associated Press, Staff, Rick Halperin, December 18, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

Comments

China executes 11 members of gang who ran billion-dollar criminal empire in Myanmar

China has executed 11 members of the notorious Ming family criminal gang, who ran mafia-like scam centers in Myanmar and killed workers who tried to escape, Chinese state media reported on Thursday. The Ming family was one of the so-called 4 families of northern Myanmar — crime syndicates accused of running hundreds of compounds dealing in internet fraud, prostitution and drug production, and whose members held prominent positions in the local government and militia aligned with Myanmar’s ruling junta.

Florida | Man convicted of leaving girl to be eaten by gators avoids death penalty

After about 4 hours of deliberations, jurors on Friday recommended Harrel Braddy should be sentenced to life in prison for the 1998 killing of 5-year-old Quantisha Maycock. A South Florida man who dropped off a 5-year-old child in the Everglades to be eaten alive by gators nearly 3 decades ago was given a second chance at life as jurors recommended he should spend the rest of his life behind bars instead of being sent to death row. After about four hours of deliberations, jurors on Friday recommended Harrel Braddy should be sentenced to life in prison for the 1998 killing of 5-year-old Quantisha Maycock.

Federal Judge Rules Out Death Penalty for Luigi Mangione in UnitedHealth CEO Killing

NEW YORK — A federal judge has dismissed two charges against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, effectively removing the possibility of the death penalty in the high-profile case. U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett ruled Friday that the murder charge through use of a firearm — the only count that could have carried a capital sentence — was legally incompatible with the remaining interstate stalking charges against Mangione.

Georgia parole board suspends scheduled execution of Cobb County death row prisoner

The execution of a Georgia man scheduled for Wednesday has been suspended as the State Board of Pardons and Paroles considers a clemency application. Stacey Humphreys, 52, would have been the state's first execution in 2025. As of December 16, 2025, Georgia has carried out zero executions in 2025. The state last executed an inmate in January 2020, followed by a pause due to COVID-19. Executions resumed in 2024, but none have occurred this year until now. Humphreys had been sentenced to death for the 2003 killings of 33-year-old Cyndi Williams and 21-year-old Lori Brown, who were fatally shot at the real estate office where they worked.

California | Convicted killer Scott Peterson keeps swinging in court — but expert says he’s not going anywhere but his cell

More than two decades after Laci Peterson vanished from her Modesto, California, home, the murder case that captivated the nation continues to draw legal challenges, public debate and renewed attention. As the year comes to a close, Scott Peterson, convicted in 2004 of murdering his pregnant wife and their unborn son Conner, remains behind bars, serving life without the possibility of parole. His wife disappeared on Christmas Eve in 2002, and a few months later, the remains of Laci and Conner were found in the San Francisco Bay.

Oklahoma board recommends clemency for inmate set to be executed next week

A voting board in Oklahoma decided Wednesday to recommend clemency for Tremane Wood, a death row inmate who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next week at the state penitentiary in McAlester. Wood, 46, faces execution for his conviction in the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker, at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year's Eve, court records show. The recommendation was decided in a 3-2 vote by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, consisting of five members appointed by either the governor or the state's top judicial official, according to CBS News affiliate KWTV. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Sitt will consider the recommendation as he weighs whether to grant or deny Wood's clemency request, which would mean sparing him from execution and reducing his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Death toll in Iran protests could exceed 30,000

In an exclusive report, the American magazine TIME cited two senior officials from the Iranian Ministry of Health, who stated that the scale of the crackdown against protesters on January 18 and 19 was so widespread that 18-wheeler trailers replaced ambulances. In its report, based on testimony from these two high-ranking officials, TIME revealed statistics that differ vastly from the official narrative of the Islamic Republic.

The US reporter who has witnessed 14 executions: ‘People need to know what it looks like’

South Carolina-based journalist Jeffrey Collins observed back-to-back executions in 2025 after the state revived the death penalty following a 13-year pause Jeffrey Collins has watched 14 men draw their final breaths. Over 25 years at the Associated Press, the South Carolina-based journalist has repeatedly served as an observer inside the state’s execution chamber, watching from feet away as prison officials kill men who were sentenced to capital punishment. South Carolina has recently kept him unusually busy, with seven back-to-back executions in 14 months.

Florida's second execution of 2026 scheduled for February

Florida’s second execution of 2026, a man convicted of killing a grocery story owner, will take place in February. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant Jan. 23 for Melvin Trotter, 65, to die by lethal injection Feb. 24. Florida's first execution will take place just a few weeks earlier when Ronald Palmer Heath is set to die Feb. 10. Trotter was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1987 for strangling and stabbing Virgie Langford a year earlier in Palmetto.

China executes another four members of powerful Myanmar-based crime family

China has executed another four members of a powerful Myanmar-based crime family that oversaw 41 pig butchering scam* compounds across Southeast Asia. The executed individuals were members of the Bai family, a particularly powerful gang that ruled the Laukkai district and helped transform it into a hub for casinos, trafficking, scam compounds, and prostitution. China’s Supreme People’s Court approved the executions after 21 members were charged with homicide, kidnapping, extortion, operating a fraudulent casino, organizing illegal border crossings, and forced prostitution. The court said the Bai family made over $4 billion across its enterprise and killed six Chinese citizens.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog