Archive · 18 Aug 2026
Florida set for 13th execution of 2026
In the United States, some states punish people who commit very serious crimes by putting them to death.
This is called the death penalty.
One state, Florida, uses the death penalty more than any other state in the country.
A 61-year-old man named William Silvia is scheduled to be put to death on Tuesday.
Many years ago, in 2006, he shot his wife and her mother during a family cookout.
His wife died, but her mother survived her injuries.
Silvia's lawyers tried to stop the execution, saying he did not receive good enough legal help.
The Florida Supreme Court rejected their appeal and said the execution could go ahead.
His final appeal was still being considered by the US Supreme Court.
Two more people are scheduled to be executed in Florida in September.
Florida is scheduled to carry out its 13th execution of 2026 on Tuesday, accounting for more than half of the 22 executions carried out across the US so far this year.
William Frances Silvia, 61, is set to die by three-drug lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke for the 2006 killing of his estranged wife and shooting of her mother.
Silvia's final appeal was still pending before the US Supreme Court at the time of reporting; his original 2008 death sentence was overturned and reinstated after a 2018 resentencing.
Florida carried out 19 of the 47 US executions in 2025, its highest annual total since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, and executed two prisoners on the same day in July.
Two more executions are scheduled for September: Harold Gene Lucas on September 1 and Daniel Owen Conahan Jr. on September 10.
- Who
- William Frances Silvia, 61, a Florida death-row inmate convicted of killing his estranged wife Patricia Silvia and shooting her mother Betty Woodard in 2006.
- What
- Silvia is to be executed by three-drug lethal injection, marking Florida's 13th execution of 2026.
- When
- Scheduled for Tuesday at 6 PM local time; two further executions are set for September 1 and September 10.
- Where
- Florida State Prison near Starke, Florida.
- Why
- Silvia was sentenced to death for first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, and Florida continues to carry out capital punishment at a pace that leads the nation.
Death Penalty Opponents
State of Florida and Supporters
Pace of executions
Death Penalty Opponents
Critics see Florida's rapid execution schedule — the busiest in the nation, with 13 executions in 2026 and two more set for September — as an excessive use of capital punishment.
State of Florida and Supporters
Florida, under Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, continues to carry out court-ordered death sentences, accounting for more than half of all US executions this year.
Quality of legal representation
Death Penalty Opponents
Silvia's lawyers argued the state agency responsible for representing death-row prisoners could not provide adequate assistance because it was already representing another inmate.
State of Florida and Supporters
The Florida Supreme Court rejected the appeal, allowing the execution to proceed as scheduled.
- Inmate
- William Frances Silvia, 61
- Conviction
- First-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder (2006 shooting)
- Execution method
- Three-drug lethal injection
- Execution location
- Florida State Prison, near Starke
- Scheduled time
- 6 PM local time
- Florida executions in 2026
- 13 of 22 executions nationwide so far this year
- Florida executions in 2025
- 19 of 47 executions nationwide
- Next scheduled executions
- Harold Gene Lucas (Sept 1) and Daniel Owen Conahan Jr. (Sept 10)