Florida executed 77-year-old William Reaves on Tuesday for the 1986 murder of Sheriff’s Deputy Richard Raczkoski, marking the state’s 18th execution this year and bringing it closer to its record pace set under Governor Ron DeSantis. Reaves was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. via lethal injection after being convicted of first-degree murder for shooting Raczkoski four times as the deputy responded to a disturbance at a Vero Beach convenience store. The execution proceeded despite appeals from Reaves’ attorneys challenging Florida’s three-drug lethal injection protocol and arguing that jurors were unaware of Reaves’ 100% disability rating for PTSD stemming from his Vietnam War service. Raczkoski’s brother sought justice, while the county sheriff viewed the execution as closure rather than justice, questioning the peacefulness of Reaves’ death. This execution is the eighth for an inmate over 70 in Florida this year, and the state is on track to potentially match or exceed its 2025 record of 19 executions, accounting for a significant portion of the nation’s total this year.
Adapted from: U.S. News Today on Fox News
