Stewart says death sentences fall to historic lows as Florida executions rise
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty addressed the state’s execution rate in a statement released after the execution. “Some executions command the attention of our state and even our nation. Others happen quietly, while most people go about their Tuesday evening. Florida’s unprecedented and remarkable pace of executions over the past two years makes that possible,” the group said. The group added: “Before we have finished saying one person’s name, another death warrant is signed. The names blur and the numbers rise and those who aren’t closely following along are none the wiser.”
John Stewart, a supporter of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, said in a statement: “Florida keeps breaking its own records for executions while new death sentences remain at historic lows. Our state issuing the death penalty more aggressively at the very moment juries are choosing it less often. We’ll be out there Tuesday because we want Florida’s policymakers to hear the people who are saying: enough.”
Death-penalty opponents said they planned to gather for a demonstration opposing the execution at 5 p.m. in Pinellas County, Fla.
The execution was the third in Florida in September and the 16th in the state in 2026, following a record 19 executions in 2025. Florida has carried out 43 executions during DeSantis’ term as governor, and the state has two more executions scheduled for October. Beasley was the 29th person executed in the United States in 2026.
According to court documents, Beasley had been staying at the home of an acquaintance, Carolyn Monfort, when she was found beaten to death with a claw hammer on Aug. 24, 1995. Prosecutors said Beasley took $800 and Monfort’s car and left the state. He was arrested in Alabama five months later. Beasley denied killing Monfort, and his lawyers said there were no witnesses, no fingerprints and no confession to the crime, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported. Investigators found Monfort’s blood on a shirt identified as Beasley’s.
Beasley’s attorneys appealed his sentence, citing his age, poor health, concerns about his non-unanimous death sentence and other issues. The Florida Supreme Court denied the appeal last week, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal hours before the execution was scheduled to begin. Catholic leaders and death-penalty opponents had pressed DeSantis to stay the execution.