Florida: Billy Leon Kearse executed—shot and killed police officer in panic during traffic stop at age 18

On Tuesday evening, 53-year-old Billy Leon Kearse was executed by lethal injection in the US state of Florida. He had been sentenced to death for shooting a police officer in October 1991.

Kearse was driving the wrong way down a one-way street and was stopped by the police officer. He initially gave a false name and was unable to produce a driver’s license.

When the officer drew his service weapon and attempted to arrest him, Kearse, who was only 18 at the time, panicked, wrestled the weapon from the officer, and fired 13 shots at him. He was sentenced to death for first-degree murder and armed robbery.

In his final words, Kearse said, “I sincerely apologize to his family for what I have done. My death can never make up for that. … I can only ask for your forgiveness so that you may find peace and reconciliation.”

The organization Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) points out in its statement: “Billy was born into extreme poverty, instability, abuse, and trauma. His mother was a young teenager who consumed alcohol throughout her pregnancy. His father left her when Billy was just two years old.

He grew up in a home marked by violence and neglect, in schools that were not equipped to support a child with intellectual disabilities, in systems that punished him more often than they protected him. Sometimes Billy was forced to go outside naked as punishment. He was tied to a bed, beaten, and sexually abused multiple times.

His teachers described a child who came to school dirty and hungry, who lacked positive role models, and who more than once asked local police officers to arrest him so that he could have something to eat and a safe place to sleep for the night.

During his decades on death row, he developed into an empathetic person who deeply and sincerely regretted his impulsive act. He became an artist whose exhibition was to open on Friday, three days after his execution.

Anti-death penalty activists also criticize the fact that Kearse’s lawyer, who had been handling his case for over 20 years, was not even granted a 72-hour extension in the run-up to the execution, even though the lawyer’s father was dying, meaning that adequate legal representation was not available in the crucial final phase.

Sources:
https://eu.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/florida/2026/03/03/billy-kearse-executed-for-killing-fort-pierce-officer-danny-parrish-1991-death-row-florida-murder/88907537007/
https://www.fadp.org/statement-on-the-execution-of-billy-kearse/