A Florida man who was convicted of killing a neighbor was executed Tuesday evening after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his final appeal without comment, according to court and corrections records described by the Associated Press.
Chadwick Scott Willacy, 58, was put to death at Florida State Prison near Starke, where he received a three-drug injection and was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m., AP reported. The execution began shortly after the scheduled 6 p.m. start time, with the lethal injection beginning about two minutes later after Willacy made a brief statement.
In his statement, Willacy apologized to his family and friends and urged his “brothers on the row” to stay strong, while maintaining his innocence, AP said. He told the victim’s family that he hoped it would bring them peace, but also said, “But this is not right,” according to the report.
AP said that shortly after the lethal injection began, a warden shook Willacy and shouted his name, but there was no response. A medic later entered the chamber to examine Willacy and declared him dead, the report said.
The case dates to Sept. 5, 1990, when, court records say, Marlys Sather returned to her Palm Bay home on a lunch break from work and found Willacy burglarizing it. Investigators said he struck her in the head with a blunt object, fracturing her skull, then bound her hands and ankles with wire and tape, and attempted to strangle her with a phone cord before dousing her with gasoline and setting her on fire, AP reported.
An autopsy, AP said, determined that Sather died from smoke inhalation, indicating she was still alive when she was set on fire. The report also said authorities found that Willacy stole Sather’s car and other items and used her ATM card to steal cash, and that her employer contacted her family when she did not return from her break.
Willacy was sentenced to death in 1991 after a 9-3 jury recommendation following convictions for first-degree murder, burglary, robbery and arson, AP said. The report said the Florida Supreme Court ordered a new sentencing in 1994 after a trial judge failed to allow defense attorneys an opportunity to rehabilitate a potential juror who indicated she could not recommend the death penalty, and that a new jury again recommended death in 1995.
In the days leading to Tuesday’s execution, AP said Willacy spent the morning at 5 a.m. and remained compliant as the execution hour approached, and received visits during the day from his mother, two sisters and a cousin. AP also said he did not meet with a spiritual adviser.
The execution came after the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday afternoon denied Willacy’s final appeal without comment, according to AP. The report said the Florida Supreme Court also denied his appeals last week and that Willacy had raised claims related to Florida’s refusal to grant public records requests about executions and lethal injection.
AP said none of Sather’s relatives spoke at a news briefing after the execution, but that the family released a statement thanking Gov. Ron DeSantis and others. The statement said the family had waited “36.5 years for justice” and described Sather’s family life and the period after her husband died of cancer in July 1990, “just weeks before she was murdered,” AP reported.
AP added that Florida has carried out all executions this year by injecting a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug that stops the heart. The report said Tuesday was Florida’s fifth execution in 2026 and that another execution was planned for April 30, involving James Ernest Hitchcock, 70, who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection for a conviction in the fatal beating and choking of his 13-year-old niece.