Florida has set Feb. 10 for the execution of Ronald Palmer Heath, 64, after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant. Heath was convicted in 1990 of killing traveling salesman Michael Sheridan during a 1989 robbery; his brother Kenneth received a life sentence in a plea deal. Authorities tied Heath to the crime after purchases were traced to the victim's stolen credit cards. The case comes as Florida led the nation in executions in 2025.
Florida Schedules Feb. 10 Execution For Man Convicted In 1989 Killing Of Traveling Salesman
FILE -The entrance to Florida State Prison in Starke, Fla. is shown Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Curt Anderson)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Ronald Palmer Heath, 64, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Feb. 10 at Florida State Prison after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant on Friday. The move makes Heath the first person slated for execution in Florida in 2026 and follows a record year of capital cases in the state.
Record Pace Of Executions
In 2025, Gov. DeSantis approved 19 executions — the most by any Florida governor since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Nationwide, 47 people were executed in 2025, and Florida led the nation after a wave of death warrants signed by DeSantis. The state's final execution of 2025 occurred Dec. 18, when Frank Athen Walls was put to death for a fatal home-invasion shooting.
Crime And Conviction
Heath was convicted in 1990 of first-degree murder, robbery with a deadly weapon and multiple counts of forgery in the 1989 killing of traveling salesman Michael Sheridan.
According to court records, in May 1989 Heath and his brother, Kenneth Heath, met Sheridan at a bar in Gainesville. The three agreed to leave together. Investigators say the brothers later plotted to rob Sheridan. Ronald Heath drove to a remote area where Kenneth Heath pulled a handgun on Sheridan and shot him in the chest when he initially refused to hand over belongings.
Prosecutors say Ronald Heath then kicked Sheridan and stabbed him with a hunting knife as Sheridan emptied his pockets. Kenneth Heath subsequently shot Sheridan twice in the head. The brothers left the body in a wooded area, returned to the bar and removed items from the victim's rental car. The following day, they used Sheridan's stolen credit cards for purchases at a Gainesville mall.
Investigators connected purchases made with Sheridan's stolen cards to Ronald Heath and arrested him several weeks later at his home in Douglas, Georgia. Authorities recovered clothing purchased with the stolen cards and Sheridan's watch, according to court records. Kenneth Heath was charged in the killing as well but received a life sentence under a plea agreement.
Next Steps
Attorneys for Ronald Heath are expected to file appeals with the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. The case and the scheduled execution come amid renewed national attention on capital punishment as Florida increases the pace of executions.
Key facts: Heath is 64 and was convicted in 1990; the execution is set for Feb. 10 at Florida State Prison; Florida led the U.S. in executions in 2025.
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