Inmate Put To Death, His Final Words Stun Executioner

Lady Justice statue with scales in dramatic light beside an empty gurney — Photo: zef art / Shutterstock

Florida put a 77-year-old man to death Monday evening for beating a woman to death with a hammer three decades ago, making him the 16th person executed in the state this year alone.

Story Snapshot

Curtis Wilkie Beasley, 77, died by lethal injection at Florida State Prison at 6:12 p.m. on September 29, 2026.
He was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery, and grand theft auto for killing Carolyn Monfort in 1995.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant on August 31, 2026, setting the execution date.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied Beasley’s emergency stay request and his petition for review on the day of the execution.
Beasley is the 16th person Florida has executed in 2026, part of a record-setting pace for the state.

What Happened In The Monfort Killing

Beasley was convicted of murdering Carolyn Monfort in 1995 in Polk County. Court records describe a brutal hammer attack that left her dead. He was also found guilty of robbing her and stealing her car. A jury recommended the death penalty, and a judge sentenced him to die for the crime.

Beasley spent roughly three decades on death row while his case moved through state and federal courts. Throughout that time, he maintained he did not commit the murder, according to reporting on his final weeks. That claim never persuaded the courts that reviewed his conviction, but it remained part of his public record right up to his execution.

The Final Legal Push Before Execution

Governor DeSantis signed Beasley’s death warrant on August 31, 2026, scheduling his execution for September 29 by lethal injection at Florida State Prison. That gave his legal team roughly four weeks to file any last challenges before the state carried out the sentence.

A federal judge in the Middle District of Florida reviewed Beasley’s habeas corpus petition and confirmed the conviction and the pending warrant in an order issued September 24, 2026. Five days later, the U.S. Supreme Court denied his application for a stay and rejected his petition for certiorari on the same day the execution was scheduled, clearing the final legal obstacle.

Florida’s Execution Pace Draws National Attention

Beasley’s death marked the 16th execution carried out in Florida during 2026, continuing a streak that has made the state the busiest death chamber in the country. Florida alone accounted for 19 of the nation’s 47 executions in 2025, roughly 40 percent of the yearly total. That concentration means a handful of states, including Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas, now carry out the overwhelming majority of executions nationwide.

Supporters of the death penalty point to cases like this one as proof the system still works when evidence is strong and appeals are exhausted. Victims’ families wait decades for closure, and finality matters. At the same time, capital punishment carries no do-overs, which is why critics note that 203 people have been exonerated from death row nationwide since 1973. That number doesn’t cast doubt on this particular verdict, but it explains why capital cases draw sustained scrutiny long after a jury’s first decision.

Beasley’s age also set this case apart. At 77, he was among the oldest inmates Florida has executed in recent memory, raising questions in coverage about competency and the decades-long gap between crime and punishment. Courts rejected those late-stage arguments, and the execution proceeded as scheduled, closing a case that began with a 1995 hammer attack and ended three decades later in a Florida death chamber.