Florida put Curtis Wilkie Beasley to death Tuesday after the Supreme Court declined to intervene.
Why it matters: The execution extends Florida's record-setting pace and keeps the state's death-penalty system under scrutiny. It also highlights the unresolved debate over whether age-related cognitive decline should bar execution.
- Beasley, 77, was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke and pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. local time.
- Florida said the execution was its 16th in 2026, making it the nation's busiest death chamber this year.
- Beasley was convicted of killing Carolyn Monfort in Polk County in 1995; court records say he beat her to death, stole cash and took her car.
- His lawyers argued dementia and age-related cognitive decline made execution unconstitutional, but state and federal courts rejected those claims.
Florida executed Curtis Wilkie Beasley on Sept. 29, closing a case tied to a 1995 killing in Polk County. The state said Beasley was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. local time at Florida State Prison near Starke. AP reported the execution.
Beasley was convicted of the first-degree murder of Carolyn Monfort. The Florida Supreme Court said in its Sept. 22 opinion that Beasley had been convicted of killing Monfort in a brutal attack, and that he stole cash and took her car after the crime. Read the Florida Supreme Court opinion.
The execution was Florida's 16th of 2026, reinforcing the state's position as the nation's busiest death chamber this year. AP reported earlier this month that Florida was on track to match or exceed its 2025 total of 19 executions. See AP's earlier report on Florida's pace.
Beasley's case reached the U.S. Supreme Court on an emergency application filed Sept. 24. The docket shows the stay request, but the court did not block the execution. View the Supreme Court docket.
Reporting and court filings said Beasley's lawyers argued that age-related cognitive decline and dementia made his execution unconstitutional. Those arguments failed in state and federal court.
By the numbers
- 16 - Florida executions in 2026, including Beasley
- 29 - U.S. executions in 2026 after Beasley's death
- 77 - Beasley's age at execution
Yes, but: The Supreme Court docket confirms the emergency filing and absence of a stay, but not a detailed explanation for its action.