Florida prepares to execute a 61-year-old inmate, the 13th death this year
A Florida man convicted of killing his estranged wife and wounding his mother-in-law is slated for execution on Tuesday, marking the state’s 13th execution of 2026.
William Frances Silvia, aged 61, is scheduled for lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke on Tuesday at 6 p.m., becoming the 13th inmate executed in Florida this year. He was convicted of first-degree murder for the 2006 fatal shooting of his estranged wife, Patricia Silvia, and attempted first-degree murder for wounding her mother, Betty Woodard, during a family cookout in the Orlando area. Although initially sentenced to death in 2008, the verdict was later vacated due to procedural issues, but a new death-penalty phase in 2018 reinstated the sentence.
His attorneys argue that the Capital Collateral Regional Counsel could not provide adequate representation, a claim the Florida Supreme Court rejected. A pending appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court remains unresolved. Florida, under Governor Ron DeSantis, has already accounted for more than half of the 22 executions nationwide in 2026 and has two additional executions slated for September.
Why it matters
The execution highlights Florida's aggressive use of the death penalty and its impact on national execution statistics.
In this story
