Billy Leon Kearse, 53, was executed in Florida on Wednesday for the murder of police officer Danny Parrish, whom he shot 14 times with the officer's own service weapon in 1991. Kearse used his final words to apologise to the victim's family, some of whom witnessed the lethal injection at Florida State Prison.
Mirtha Busbin, PC Parrish's widow, said she was surprised by the apology but could forgive him. 'I can forgive him, I can move on. It was the right thing to do... It's been a long, long 35 years. We didn't win anything though; we lost another life, but we did get justice,' she told reporters.
Before receiving the three-drug injection, Kearse said: 'To his family, I sincerely apologise for what I've done. There is no way I can ever repay that.' Police officers also attended the execution in support of PC Parrish's family.
The crime occurred when PC Parrish pulled over Kearse for driving the wrong way down a one-way street. After failing to produce a driving licence, Kearse grabbed the officer's revolver and fired repeatedly. A taxi driver heard the shots and used the officer's radio to call for help, but PC Parrish died in hospital.
Kearse was originally sentenced to death in 1991, but the Florida Supreme Court ordered a fresh sentencing hearing after finding the trial court had failed to provide jurors with details of aggravating circumstances. His execution was the third in Florida this year and part of a total of 47 executions across the United States in 2025, with Florida carrying out 19 – the highest number of any state.
