Florida: Chadwick Willacy Executed – Execution Order Issued in Response to Critical Questions

On Tuesday evening, 58-year-old Chadwick Willacy was executed by lethal injection in the U.S. state of Florida. He had been sentenced to death after being found guilty of murdering a 56-year-old woman during a robbery in September 1990.

He was reportedly surprised by his neighbor while breaking into her home, struck and strangled her, and finally set her on fire while she was still alive. According to media reports, Willacy maintained his innocence.

However, according to court records, his fingerprints were found on the fan in the victim’s apartment; Willacy’s girlfriend discovered the victim’s checkbook in his trash can; clothing in his apartment bore bloodstains that matched the victim’s blood type; and he possessed a number of other items that belonged to her.

In his final words, Willacy stated: “I hope this brings comfort to the victim’s family. If that is the case, that is good. But this is not right.”

The organization “Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty” (FADP) notes in its statement: “Willacy spent more than 30 years on death row, trying to prove that he was more than the impulsive and devastating acts he committed just weeks before his 23rd birthday—as a young man suffering from a severe and worsening addiction.”

Throughout his years on death row, he advocated for fellow inmates until the very end. In early March, he requested access to the records regarding Florida’s lethal injection protocol and asked how it had been applied during Florida’s current unprecedented series of executions.

The state has long been accused of using substances for lethal injection that a) had already passed their expiration dates, b) were underdosed, and c) did not match the intended agents.

“Instead of responding to his request for access to public records and allowing the matter to be resolved through the appropriate legal channels, the governor responded just one week later with an execution order and decided that Chadwick Willacy would be the next to die,” according to the FADP statement.

Sources:
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/04/21/chadwick-willacy-execution-florida-marlys-sather/89723397007/
https://www.fadp.org/statement-on-the-execution-of-chadwick-khalil-willacy/