Dusty Ray Spencer, 74, was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke on Thursday, becoming the oldest person put to death in the state's modern history. He was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. after receiving a three-drug injection.
Execution details
The curtain to the death chamber rose at 6 p.m. Spencer, strapped to a metal table with an IV in his arm, made a final statement: “Sorry, sorry to the family. Into thy hands I commit my spirit and my soul. I’m on my way, Lord. I’m on my way. Amen.” A spiritual adviser stood nearby. The lethal drugs then began flowing, and after several minutes of labored breathing, Spencer ceased all movement. The warden shook him and called his name repeatedly, but there was no response. A medic later confirmed his death.
Alex Lanfranconi, in the office of Governor Ron DeSantis, told the Associated Press there were no complications. The victim's family released no statement.
Previous oldest executions in Florida
Florida Department of Corrections records dating to 1924 show the previous oldest inmates executed were both 72: Samuel Lee Smithers on October 14, 2025, for the 1996 killings of two women, and R. Charlie Gifford on February 21, 1951, for the 1950 shooting death of state lawmaker Charles Schuh Jr.
Thursday's execution was the ninth in Florida this year, following a record 19 executions in 2025. Another 74-year-old inmate, Dennis Sochor, is scheduled for execution on July 14 for a 1982 murder. Nationwide, the oldest person ever executed in modern times was Walter Leroy Moody Jr., 83, put to death in Alabama in 2018 for sending mail bombs.
Crime and trial history
Court records show Spencer was arrested in December 1991 for choking and threatening to kill Karen Spencer. While jailed, he called her and warned he would finish what he started. On January 18, 1992, Spencer beat his wife's teenage son with a clothes iron when the boy tried to stop him from attacking his mother. About a week later, the son found Spencer hitting his mother in the head with a brick. The teen tried to shoot Spencer with a rifle, but the gun misfired. Spencer threatened the teen with a knife, and the boy fled for help. Police arrived to find Karen Spencer dead with several stab wounds to the chest.
Spencer was initially sentenced to death in 1992 for first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and aggravated battery. In 1994, the Florida Supreme Court ordered a new sentencing, finding the trial court mishandled aggravating and mitigating circumstances. Spencer was resentenced to death in 1995, and subsequent appeals were denied. Last week, the state Supreme Court rejected his appeals. His attorneys had argued health issues like liver disease posed a risk of pain and suffering, and that executing him at his age constituted cruel and unusual punishment. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a final appeal earlier Thursday without comment.
