The Florida Supreme Court is reviewing appeals following a circuit court’s rejection of a motion to stay the execution of death row inmate William Frances Silvia Jr., whose execution remains scheduled for August 18, 2026, at 6:00 p.m.
Silvia was sentenced to death for the September 22, 2006, murder of his estranged wife, Patricia Silvia, in Seminole County. He was also sentenced to life imprisonment for the attempted first-degree murder of her mother, Betty Woodard, who survived a shotgun wound to the face during the same incident.
In recent court filings, the Florida Office of the Attorney General urged the state’s high court to uphold the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court’s summary denial of Silvia’s successive post-conviction motion and request for a stay.
The state argued that Silvia’s claims are procedurally barred because he voluntarily waived his post-conviction proceedings and discharged his collateral counsel in 2012.
Although Silvia previously obtained post-conviction relief under capital sentencing precedent in Hurst v. Florida, the Florida Supreme Court reinstated his death sentence in 2018, ruling that his original waiver precluded him from benefiting from subsequent legal changes.
In his latest appeal, attorneys for Silvia raised two primary arguments:
Counsel Workload and Due Process: Defense attorneys argued that Silvia’s constitutional rights to due process, equal protection, and effective assistance of counsel were compromised because his assigned legal team from the Capital Collateral Regional Counsel-Middle Region (CCRC-M) was simultaneously handling active death warrants for other clients, including Dominick Occhicone, who was executed on July 28, 2026. The state countered that capital defendants have no constitutional right to effective assistance of post-conviction counsel under established precedent, noting that the Governor holds sole executive discretion over the timing and issuance of death warrants.
Lethal Injection Protocol and Drug Shortages: Defense counsel alleged potential Fourteenth Amendment violations stemming from reported commercial shortages of etomidate, the primary drug used in Florida’s lethal injection protocol. The defense contended that shortages could lead to protocol deviations or the use of expired drugs. The state responded that these claims are speculative, untimely, and legally insufficient, asserting that Silvia failed to demonstrate a substantial risk of serious harm or offer a feasible alternative execution method as required by governing case law.
Assistant Attorney General Doris Meacham noted in filings that the victims’ family members hold a constitutional right under the Florida Constitution to proceedings free from unreasonable delay.
Silvia remains held under an active death warrant signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on July 17, 2026.
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