Florida to Execute Convicted Officer Killer
Florida is set to carry out its third execution of 2026, as Governor Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant for Billy Leon Kearse, 53, who will face lethal injection on March 3 at Florida State Prison. The execution schedule maintains Florida’s trajectory from the previous year, which saw a record 19 executions, the highest since the state’s death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
Governor DeSantis, a Republican, authorized more executions in 2025 than any Florida governor in history, surpassing the previous record of eight executions set in 2014. Two other individuals, Ronald Palmer Heath, 64, and Melvin Trotter, 65, are also slated for execution in February, on the 10th and 24th, respectively.
Kearse was convicted of the 1991 murder of Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish during a traffic stop. Court records indicate that Officer Parrish was attempting to detain Kearse, who was driving the wrong way on a one-way street and unable to produce a valid driver’s license. A struggle ensued, leading Kearse to seize Parrish’s firearm and discharge it 14 times, hitting the officer multiple times in critical areas. Despite being transported to a hospital, Officer Parrish succumbed to his injuries. Law enforcement tracked Kearse using license plate details Parrish had relayed, resulting in his arrest.
Kearse’s initial death sentence in 1991 was overturned by the Florida Supreme Court due to procedural errors, leading to a resentencing in 1997. His legal team is expected to pursue appeals in both the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
The U.S. witnessed 47 executions in 2025, the highest since 2009, with Florida leading the count. Governor DeSantis attributed the high number of executions to his commitment to delivering justice to victims’ families, asserting, “Some of these crimes were committed in the ’80s. Justice delayed is justice denied. I felt I owed it to them to make sure this ran very smoothly. If I honestly thought someone was innocent, I would not pull the trigger.”
According to the Florida Department of Corrections, the state’s executions are performed using a combination of a sedative, paralytic, and a heart-stopping drug.
