William Frances Silvia, 61, is scheduled for execution Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison in Starke, with a final appeal pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. Silvia was convicted in the 2006 killing of his estranged wife and the wounding of her mother. Florida has carried out more than half of the nation’s 22 executions so far in 2026 and has two more executions scheduled in September.
Florida To Carry Out 13th Execution Of 2026 As State Leads Nation In Death-Penalty Use
FILE - Law enforcement vehicles sit parked outside the Florida state prison in Starke, Fla., on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/David Fischer, file)
William Frances Silvia, 61, is scheduled to be executed Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke, continuing a surge of capital sentences in the state during Gov. Ron DeSantis' final term. A final appeal in Silvia's case remained pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Silvia was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder for a 2006 attack that left his estranged wife, Patricia Silvia, dead and her mother, Betty Woodard, wounded. According to court records, Silvia bought a shotgun, went to the Orlando-area home where his wife had been living after their separation, and — after an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile — retrieved the firearm from his truck and shot the two women during a family cookout.
He was first sentenced to death following his 2008 trial. That sentence was later vacated after an appeal related to Florida's sentencing procedures, and after a new capital-sentencing phase in 2018 he was again sentenced to death.
Legal Representation And Appeals
The Capital Collateral Regional Counsel, a state agency that provides post-conviction representation to death-row inmates, represented Silvia. His attorneys argued the agency could not provide effective assistance because it was also handling another active death-row case; the Florida Supreme Court rejected that claim. Silvia's legal team continued to pursue last-minute appeals to federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.
Statewide Context And Upcoming Executions
Florida has been the nation's most active state for executions in 2026, accounting for more than half of the 22 executions carried out nationwide so far. The state also led the nation in 2025, with 19 executions — the highest annual total in Florida since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. In July, Florida executed two inmates on the same day, the first state to do so in nearly a decade.
Two more executions are scheduled in Florida in September: Harold Gene Lucas, 74, on Sept. 1, who was convicted of fatally shooting a 16-year-old girl and wounding two friends; and Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., 72, on Sept. 10, convicted of kidnapping and strangling a man he had paid to pose for nude photos and suspected in similar 1990s homicides in southwest Florida.
Method Of Execution
All Florida executions are carried out by lethal injection using a three-drug protocol described by the Department of Corrections: a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug that stops the heart.
Note: This article reports scheduled actions and pending appeals. Execution dates and legal outcomes can change based on court rulings.
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