Florida Executes Willacy for 1990 Palm Bay Arson Murder

Chadwick 'Khalil' Scott Willacy was executed on April 21, 2026, at 6:15 p.m. EST via a three-drug lethal injection—consisting of an anesthetic, paralytic, and potassium acetate—at Florida State Prison near Starke. The 58-year-old had spent over 35 years on death row for the September 5, 1990, murder of 56-year-old Marlys Sather in Palm Bay, Brevard County. Then 22, Willacy broke into Sather's home while she was at work; when she returned for lunch, he strangled her with a phone cord, beat her, robbed her, doused her with gasoline, and set her ablaze while she lived.[3] A Brevard County jury convicted Willacy in 1991 of first-degree murder, burglary with assault, robbery with a deadly weapon, and first-degree arson, recommending death by a 9-3 vote. The Florida Supreme Court ordered resentencing in 1994 after a trial judge error on juror rehabilitation, leading to an 11-1 death recommendation and formal sentencing in 1995. Willacy's appeals, including challenges to Florida's lethal injection protocol, failed; he requested public records on March 6, 2026, questioning its safety amid the state's execution surge, but courts deemed them untimely.[1][4][5] In his final statement, Willacy maintained innocence, declaring, 'I would never kill my friend,' while apologizing to family and urging 'brothers on the row' to stay strong. Critics decried the execution as part of Governor Ron DeSantis' push accelerating Florida's death penalty, marking the state's fifth this year and the eighth nationally. Willacy woke at 5-7 a.m., received family visits, entered the chamber at 5:10 p.m., and was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m.[2][3][4][5]