Curtis Wilkie Beasley, 77, was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison for the 1995 murder of Carolyn Monfort at her home in Dundee. He became the 16th person executed this year in America's most active death chamber.
Execution details
Beasley was declared dead at 6:12pm following a three-drug lethal injection. When asked by a warden if he wanted to deliver a final statement, Beasley said, "I want to apologise for all the mistakes I made." The execution commenced straight away. Beasley's breathing became heavy as the drugs took effect.
His laboured breaths gradually ceased, and the warden examined Beasley's eyes and called out his name, but received no response. A medical professional entered the chamber at 6:11pm and confirmed Beasley's death moments later.
Legal challenges and context
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court dismissed arguments that executing someone of Beasley's age who was experiencing cognitive decline would amount to cruel and unusual punishment. The US Supreme Court refused to intervene on Tuesday. Beasley became the seventh Florida inmate aged over 70 to be executed this year.
Beasley also became the 29th individual - all male - put to death in the U.S. this year. No family members released any public comments following the execution, and it remained unclear whether any of the victim's relatives had observed the proceedings.
The crime and conviction
Court records show Beasley had been lodging at Monfort's residence in Dundee in August 1995 while he was pressure-washing and painting nearby flats owned by her son-in-law. Monfort's daughter visited the woman's property after failing to contact her for two days and discovered her body in a blood-spattered laundry room.
Monfort had sustained multiple blunt-force injuries to the head. Investigators discovered a bloody hammer head wrapped in a towel close by. Authorities launched a search for Beasley after a witness reported spotting him driving what proved to be Monfort's vehicle. Investigators said they established that he had travelled to Miami and subsequently relocated to Alabama, where he was apprehended while working under an assumed identity for an electrical firm.
In 1998, Beasley was convicted and sentenced to death.
