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ORLANDO, Fla. - Florida executed its oldest inmate on Thursday, continuing a sharp increase in executions under Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The execution also comes as another 74-year-old death row inmate is scheduled to be put to death next month.
Death by lethal injection
What we know:
Dusty Ray Spencer, 74, was executed by lethal injection Thursday evening at Florida State Prison near Starke after being convicted of the 1992 murder of his wife, Karen Spencer.
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Spencer was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. after receiving Florida's three-drug lethal injection protocol. Officials said there were no complications during the execution, and the victim's family did not release a public statement.
At age 74, Spencer became the oldest person executed in Florida history. The previous oldest inmates executed by the state were both 72 years old.
The backstory:
According to court records, Spencer had previously been arrested for choking and threatening to kill his wife in December 1991. While jailed, prosecutors said he warned her he would "finish what he had started" after his release.
Dusty Ray Spencer Credit: Florida Department of Corrections
Authorities said Spencer attacked his wife's teenage son with a clothes iron when the boy tried to intervene during an assault. About a week later, Spencer struck Karen Spencer with a brick before fatally stabbing her outside the family's home. Her son attempted to stop the attack with a rifle, but the gun misfired before he fled to seek help.
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Spencer was convicted of first-degree murder and other charges in 1992. Although the Florida Supreme Court ordered a new sentencing hearing in 1994 because of errors in the original penalty phase, Spencer was again sentenced to death in 1995. His appeals were later denied.
Timeline:
In the days leading up to the execution, Spencer's attorneys argued that his liver disease and other health conditions increased the risk of pain during the lethal injection process and that executing him at his age would violate the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
The Florida Supreme Court rejected those claims last week, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene Thursday, clearing the way for the execution later that evening.
What they're saying:
Before the execution began, Spencer apologized to his victim's family and prayed.
"Sorry, sorry to the family. Into thy hands I commit my spirit and my soul. I'm on my way, Lord. I'm on my way. Amen."
Afterward, Alex Lanfranconi, a spokesman for Gov. Ron DeSantis, said there were "no complications" during the execution.
Big picture view:
Thursday's execution was Florida's ninth of 2026, following a record 19 executions in 2025. DeSantis oversaw more executions in 2025 than any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
Florida is scheduled to execute another 74-year-old inmate, Dennis Sochor, on July 14. Nationally, the oldest inmate executed in the modern era remains Walter Leroy Moody Jr., who was 83 when Alabama executed him in 2018.
The Source: This story was written based on reporting by the Associated Press.