A man convicted of killing a grocery store owner during a robbery is set Tuesday evening to become the second person executed in Florida this year.
Melvin Trotter, 65, is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Trotter was initially convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1987. However, the Florida Supreme Court found the trial court had erred in handling aggravating factors in Trotter’s case and ordered a new sentencing, and Trotter again drew the death penalty in 1993.
Tuesday’s planned execution and another earlier this month in Florida follow a record 19 executions in the state last year. In 2025, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in the U.S. in 1976. The previous Florida record was eight executions in 2014…