Florida to carry out 13th execution this year in nation's busiest death chamber

MIAMI (AP) — A Florida man convicted of fatally shooting his estranged wife and wounding his mother-in-law is set to be executed Tuesday, continuing the state's aggressive use of the death penalty in Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ' final term. William Frances Silvia, 61, would be the 13th prisoner put to death this year in Florida, which has two more executions scheduled in September and has carried out more than half the nation's 22 executions so far in 2026. Silvia is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke starting at 6 p.m. local time. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied a request to halt the execution.

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Scoop News DeskFlorida · Published Tuesday, August 18, 2026 at 6:34 PM UTCUpdated Wednesday, August 19, 2026 at 4:01 PM UTC

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According to court records, Silvia purchased a shotgun that year and then went to Woodard's Orlando-area home, where his wife had been living since their separation two months earlier. Silvia was sentenced to death after being convicted of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder for the deadly 2006 attack on Patricia Silvia, along with her mother, Betty Woodard.

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