STARK, Fla. (AP) — Florida carried out its 18th execution of the year on Tuesday after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis aggressively used the death penalty during his final term in office.
William Reaves, 77, was pronounced dead after being injected with three drugs at 6:12 p.m. at the Florida State Prison near Stark. He was convicted of first-degree murder in the September 1986 shooting death of Indian River County Sheriff’s Deputy Richard Raczkoski.
Read more: Florida executed an inmate for killing a fellow inmate in hopes of receiving the death penalty. This is the state’s 17th execution this year
The curtain on the death chamber was quickly drawn back for the execution at 6 p.m. Reeves was already strapped to a gurney with an IV in his arm. Asked if he had any last words, he replied: “No, I don’t.”
Injections were started immediately thereafter. About thirty seconds later, Levis took a few deep breaths and then stopped moving. A few minutes later, the team leader shook Levi’s shoulders and called his name, but there was no response. A medical staff member was called shortly after to check for a heartbeat or any other signs of life, and Levis was pronounced dead about a minute later.
Reeves is the eighth inmate over 70 to be executed in Florida this year, underscoring the nation’s aging death row population while Florida’s total executions still far outpace the rest of the country. Last year, Florida set a state record with 19 executions in a year, and the state is on track to equal that record if another execution goes ahead next month.
DeSantis, who stepped down in January after two terms, said he wanted justice for the families of victims, who often waited decades for death sentences.
Marc Raczkoski, the deputy’s brother, briefly told reporters after witnessing the execution that his brother had finally received justice.
But Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers, who was also present, said at a briefing after the execution that he believed the execution was closure, not justice.
“It would be great if we could all be so lucky to live to be 77 and die so peacefully,” Flowers said. “In my opinion, that’s not justice in any way.”
Reeves scuffles with deputy after throwing gun
According to court records, on Sept. 23, 1986, Raczkoski answered a 911 call at a Vero Beach convenience store. Reeves later admitted he made the call from a pay phone outside the store.
As the two men were talking, a gun fell out of Reeves’ shorts, officials said. They then got into an argument over the weapon, and Reeves eventually regained control of it. Investigators said the officer was trying to run away when Levis shot him four times. Later that day, Raczkoski died of his injuries.
About a year after the shooting, Levis was convicted and sentenced to death. But the Florida Supreme Court overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial because of a conflict of interest with prosecutors. In 1992, Reeves was convicted again and sentenced to death. Subsequent appeals were unsuccessful.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Reeves’ 11th-hour appeal Tuesday afternoon without comment.
Lawyer questions lethal injection procedure
The Florida Supreme Court last week also rejected Levi’s appeal seeking life.
His attorneys challenge Florida’s three-drug lethal injection protocol. All executions in Florida are carried out with sedatives, paralytics and heart-stopping drugs, according to the Department of Corrections.
The court has previously upheld the agreement in response to similar challenges. Florida’s approach differs from the single-drug injections used in states such as Tennessee, where death row inmate Christa Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital and was rushed to the hospital last month.
Read more: Krista Pike is walking and eating with help after failed execution bid, her lawyer says
Reeves’ attorneys also argued that jurors who recommended the death penalty were never told that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs had rated the veteran as 100 percent disabled because of post-traumatic stress disorder caused by his service in the Vietnam War.
More than 100 veterans cited those factors in a letter Monday calling on DeSantis to halt the executions.
Florida closes to tying record of 19 executions in 2025
In 2025, a total of 47 people were executed in the United States. Florida led the nation with 19 executions that year, accounting for more than half of the 32 executions carried out in the United States so far in 2026, including Reeves.
In July, Florida executed two prisoners in one day, becoming the first state to do so in nearly a decade.
On Nov. 5, Jesse Guardado, 64, was scheduled to receive a lethal injection in the same death chamber in Florida. In 2004, Guardado was convicted of robbing and killing a 75-year-old woman while she was high on crack cocaine.
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