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STARKE, Fla. – Frank Athen Walls, 58, was executed Thursday evening at Florida State Prison, marking the 19th execution in Florida this year-a new record for the state. Walls was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m. following a three-drug lethal injection.
Walls was convicted of the 1987 murders of Edward Alger, an airman at Eglin Air Force Base, and his girlfriend, Ann Peterson, during a home invasion robbery. Court records detail that Walls tied the couple up, but Alger managed to break free and fight back.
Walls then fatally cut Alger’s throat and shot him in the head. Peterson was also shot during a struggle.
Before the injection began, Walls issued an apology. “Good evening, everyone.
I appreciate the opportunity to say what’s on my heart. If any of the members of the family are here, I am sorry for all of the things I did, the pain I caused, and all of that you have suffered all these years,” Walls stated, according to a spokesman for Gov.
Ron DeSantis.
Walls’ arrest came the day after the bodies were discovered, following a tip from his roommate about his unusual behavior. Investigators reportedly found items from the crime scene at Walls’ home, and he later confessed to the killings.
Initially convicted and sentenced to death in 1988, the Florida Supreme Court later reversed the conviction, leading to a new trial in 1992 where Walls was again convicted and sentenced to death.
Beyond these murders, DNA evidence also linked Walls to the 1987 rape and killing of Audrey Gygi. He pleaded no contest in that case. Walls also admitted responsibility for the killings of Tommie Lou Whiddon in 1985 and Cynthia Sue Condra in 1986 as part of a deal with prosecutors.
Governor Ron DeSantis, who signed Walls’ death warrant, has overseen more executions in a single year than any Florida governor since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. The previous record was eight executions in 2014. DeSantis has stated his goal is to provide justice to victims’ families who have endured decades of waiting for sentences to be carried out.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied Walls’ request for a stay of execution on Thursday afternoon. Earlier in the day, Walls met with a visitor and a spiritual adviser, and had a final meal consisting of steak, chicken, and cheesecake.
With Walls’ execution, 47 individuals have been executed in the U.S. this year. Florida leads the nation in executions, followed by Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas, each with five.
All Florida executions are administered through a three-drug injection process, which includes a sedative, a paralytic, and a heart-stopping drug. No complications were reported during Walls’ execution, according to DeSantis spokesman Alex Lanfranconi.