DeSantis Authorizes Execution for Vicious 1996 Slayings
In a move that could mark Florida’s 14th execution this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Samuel Smithers, 72. Smithers, who was convicted of murdering two women in 1996 in Hillsborough County, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on October 14.
Court documents indicate that Smithers, who was working as a caretaker at a secluded property, lured Denise Roach and Christy Cowan to the site under the pretense of “sex for money.”
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He then brutally murdered both women separately and disposed of their bodies in a pond on the property.
This death warrant follows a record-breaking year for executions in Florida. The state has already executed 11 inmates in 2025, surpassing the previous modern-era record of eight. Two more executions are scheduled for later this month, bringing the potential total to 14 if Smithers’ execution proceeds as planned.
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The new warrant comes as attorneys for the two men scheduled for execution this month—David Pittman and Victor Tony Jones—continue to challenge their sentences in the Florida and U.S. Supreme Courts, citing intellectual disability.
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