Florida Executes 11th Prisoner of the Year in a Record-Breaking Pace

By administering a lethal injection, the state of Florida carried out its 11th execution of the year, setting a record pace for the most executions in a single year since the death penalty’s restoration in 1976. The condemned was Curtis Windom, 59, who was pronounced dead at 6:17 p.m. near Starke, Florida.

Windom was convicted of a triple murder committed in 1992, which included the killing of his girlfriend Valerie Davis, her mother Mary Lubin, and an acquaintance named Johnnie Lee, in the Orlando area. Court records reveal that Windom believed Lee owed him $2,000, and that fueled the shootings. Witnesses say Windom bought a handgun and ambushed Lee, shooting him multiple times from his car and at close range. He then killed Valerie Davis in her apartment, and shot her mother, Mary Lubin, at a nearby stop sign, injuring another man in the process.

During the execution, Windom’s face was hidden under a sheet as the lethal drugs were administered. He appeared to breathe heavily and twitch before becoming still. Family members expressed mixed emotions; Valerie Davis’s sister, Kemene Hunter, said the execution brought closure after 33 years and emphasized her faith in divine justice.

Windom’s legal team had filed numerous appeals over the years, challenging his mental competence and the adequacy of his legal representation, but all were ultimately denied, including a final appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. His execution marks a significant milestone in Florida’s ongoing use of the death penalty, which has performed more executions than any other state this year.

Scheduled to follow Windom’s execution is David Joseph Pittman, 63, with a death sentence set for September 17. The method of execution in Florida uses a three-drug protocol intended to induce unconsciousness, paralysis, and cardiac arrest.