Florida executes oldest death row inmate in state history as church leaders renew calls to end capital punishment

MIAMI — Florida executed its oldest death row inmate Thursday, carrying out the state’s ninth execution of 2026 as religious leaders continued urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to halt the use of the death penalty.

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Dusty Ray Spencer, 74, was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Raiford. Spencer was convicted of murdering his wife in Orange County in 1992.

Ahead of the execution, the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops appealed to DeSantis to commute Spencer’s sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The bishops argued that the death penalty is unjust and unnecessary, saying society can be protected without taking an inmate’s life.

The execution comes as Florida continues an unprecedented pace of carrying out death sentences. The state’s execution rate has increased sharply since 2023, when DeSantis signed legislation allowing juries to recommend a death sentence with an 8-4 vote instead of requiring a unanimous decision.

Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski said the growing number of executions is troubling and reiterated the Catholic Church’s longstanding opposition to capital punishment.

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“Most of the rest of the world has foregone the use of capital punishment,” Wenski said. “And I think we would be better if we did as well because an eye for an eye will just end up making everybody blind.”

Florida carried out a record 19 executions in 2025 and now leads the nation in the number of executions performed so far this year.

Church leaders say they will continue urging the governor to commute future death sentences to life without parole before additional executions are scheduled.

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