Florida is scheduled to execute William Reaves at 6 p.m. ET on Oct. 20, which would bring its 2026 total to 18, one below the state record set last year.
The Death Penalty Information Center has recorded 17 Florida executions among 31 nationwide this year. Florida executed 19 people in 2025. Reaves, 77, was sentenced to death for the 1986 killing of Indian River County sheriff's Deputy Richard Rudy Raczkoski.
Reaves' attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the lethal injection. They say the sentencing jury did not see a Department of Veterans Affairs rating that found him 100% disabled because of post-traumatic stress disorder tied to his Vietnam War service. Their application also raises claims about Florida's execution procedure and clemency process.
On Oct. 14, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed a lower court's denial of relief, denied Reaves' habeas petition and declined to stay the execution. His request for a U.S. Supreme Court stay remained pending ahead of the scheduled execution.
The Death Penalty Information Center lists Jesse Guardado for execution on Nov. 5, after Reaves. If Florida carries out both executions, its 2026 total would reach 19, matching the 2025 record.
