The State of Florida is moving forward with the execution of 58-year-old Chadwick Scott Willacy this evening, as a legal battle over lethal injection records reaches its final hour.
Willacy is scheduled to die by a three-drug injection at 6:00 p.m. at Florida State Prison for a crime committed more than three decades ago.
The execution marks the fifth in Florida this year, continuing a steady pace following a record-breaking 19 executions in 2025 under Governor Ron DeSantis.
A Brutal 1990 Crime
The case dates back to 1990, when Marlys Sather returned home for her lunch break and discovered Willacy burglarizing her house. According to court records, Willacy struck Sather, bound her, and attempted to strangle her. In a final act of brutality, he doused her in gasoline and set her on fire. An autopsy later confirmed that Sather died from smoke inhalation.
Willacy was first sentenced to death in 1991. After the Florida Supreme Court ordered a new sentencing hearing, he was sentenced to death again in 1995.
The Last-Minute Legal Standoff
In the days leading up to tonight’s execution, Willacy’s legal team launched a frantic effort to stop the process, claiming the state was “systemically” blocking access to public records regarding lethal injection protocols. His attorneys argued that without these documents, they could not properly investigate whether the state is capable of carrying out the execution humanely.
READ: Appeal Filed As Execution Date Nears For James E. Hitchcock In 1976 Florida Killing Of Step-Niece
The defense described the current legal framework for obtaining these records as a “stationary bicycle” that provides no real progress, arguing that the state “manufactured” the current crisis by signing the death warrant while a records request was still pending.
The State of Florida, through the Attorney General’s office, has remained firm in its push for the execution. In final filings, prosecutors dismissed Willacy’s appeals as a “fishing expedition” and a “disfavored last-minute claim” designed solely to delay justice.
“The Petition is an improper attempt to obtain duplicative review,” the state argued, noting that Willacy’s crime occurred over 35 years ago. Prosecutors emphasized that the family of Marlys Sather has a constitutional right to the “prompt and final conclusion” of the case, a right they argued should be protected as vigorously as the rights of the defendant.
Unless a federal court or the U.S. Supreme Court issues an extraordinary last-second stay, Willacy will be brought into the execution chamber at the Florida State Prison in Raiford.
The three-drug cocktail is scheduled to be administered at 6:00 p.m.
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