The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for the June 25 execution of Dusty Ray Spencer, denying his request for a stay and rejecting his latest round of post-conviction appeals.
Spencer, 74, is scheduled to die by lethal injection for the 1992 murder of his wife, Karen Spencer. Governor Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant on May 26, 2026, moving forward a case that has spent nearly three decades in the court system.
According to the factual record detailed in the court’s ruling, Spencer murdered his wife on January 18, 1992, following a series of domestic disputes. Records show that Spencer attacked his wife in her backyard, striking her with a brick and slamming her head into a concrete wall before stabbing her multiple times in the chest.
Her teenage son attempted to intervene during the assault but was threatened with a knife. Spencer was later convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and attempted second-degree murder, resulting in a death sentence that became final in 1997.
In his third successive motion for post-conviction relief, Spencer raised two primary arguments to halt his execution:
- Lethal Injection Risks: He claimed that the state’s lethal injection protocol would cause him unconstitutional pain and suffering due to his advanced cirrhosis, a liver condition documented in his records since 2012 and worsened by a COVID-19 infection in 2020. He also alleged that the Department of Corrections routinely deviates from its own protocol by mishandling drug logs and using expired chemicals.
- Advanced Age: He argued that executing a 74-year-old inmate constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment, asking the court to establish a new categorical exemption for elderly prisoners.
The Supreme Court rejected both arguments, ruling that the claims were both late and legally insufficient.
Regarding the lethal injection challenge, the court noted that Spencer had known about his cirrhosis diagnosis for years and could not use a newly issued death warrant to justify a delayed filing.
On the merits of the claim, the justices ruled that his arguments failed to prove a “virtual certainty” of needless suffering, stating that “speculative and conclusory allegations that lethal injection protocols present a substantial risk of serious harm are insufficient to warrant an evidentiary hearing.”
The court also dismissed the age-based appeal. The justices emphasized that the U.S. Supreme Court only recognizes age exemptions for individuals who were under 18 at the time of their crimes. In the ruling, the court reiterated that federal constitutional law “is both the floor and the ceiling for protection from cruel and unusual punishment in Florida,” foreclosing any state-level expansion for older death row inmates.
The decision was issued per curiam, with Chief Justice Muñiz and Justices Couriel, Grosshans, Francis, Sasso, and Tanenbaum concurring. Justice Labarga concurred in the result. The court stated that the mandate would issue immediately and no motions for rehearing would be considered, leaving Spencer’s execution on track for next Thursday.
READ: Florida Supreme Court Blocks Appeals Courts From Shrugging Off Sentencing Disputes
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