STARKE, Fla. – Florida moved forward with the execution of 77-year-old William Reaves on Tuesday, marking the state’s 18th execution this year. The procedure, carried out at Florida State Prison, underscores the aggressive death penalty schedule maintained by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis as he enters his final months in office.
Reaves, who had been on death row for nearly four decades, was convicted of the 1986 murder of Indian River County Deputy Richard Raczkowski. His death marks the eighth time this year that the state has executed an inmate over the age of 70, highlighting an aging death-row population and Florida’s status as the nation’s leader in capital punishment.
The lethal injection was scheduled for 6 p.m. using the state’s standard three-drug protocol: a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug designed to stop the heart. Despite repeated challenges from his legal team, the Florida Supreme Court rejected Reaves’ final appeals last week, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene.
The case dates back to September 1986, when Deputy Raczkowski responded to a 911 call placed by Reaves at a Vero Beach convenience store. According to court records, a struggle ensued after a firearm fell from Reaves’ shorts. Reaves gained control of the weapon and shot the deputy four times as he attempted to flee. After an initial conviction was overturned due to a prosecutorial conflict of interest, Reaves was convicted and sentenced to death again in 1992.
Defense attorneys had mounted a last-minute effort to stay the execution, focusing on Reaves’ history as a Vietnam War veteran. They argued that jurors who recommended the death penalty were never informed that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs had rated Reaves as 100% disabled due to service-related post-traumatic stress disorder. On Monday, more than 100 military veterans signed a letter urging Gov. DeSantis to grant clemency, citing his service and age, though the pleas went unheeded.
DeSantis has maintained that his primary objective is to deliver long-delayed justice to the families of murder victims. His administration’s pace has made Florida a national outlier in capital punishment. Having set a state record with 19 executions last year, Florida is currently on track to match or exceed that number. With another execution scheduled for November 5, the state remains poised to potentially tie its all-time record.
Florida’s current execution rate has far outpaced the rest of the country. Of the 31 executions carried out nationwide so far this year, more than half have occurred in Florida. In July, the state drew significant attention by executing two prisoners in a single day—a move not seen in the U.S. for nearly a decade.
As Florida continues this high-volume approach to capital punishment, the legal and ethical debates surrounding the age of inmates, their military history, and the state’s specific lethal injection protocols show no sign of subsiding.
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