Man, 74, becomes oldest man to be executed in Florida

A 74-year-old man has become the oldest person to be executed since records began in Florida.

Dusty Ray Spencer was pronounced dead after receiving a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke.

He had been in prison since being convicted of stabbing his wife Karen to death in 1992.

When asked if he had anything to say before the drugs were administered, he said: "Sorry, sorry to the family. Into thy hands I commit my spirit and my soul. I'm on my way, Lord. I'm on my way. Amen."

The next oldest inmates previously executed in Florida were both aged 72.

The oldest man ever executed in modern times in the whole of the US was 83-year-old Walter Leroy Moody Jr.

He was put to death in Alabama in 2018 for sending mail bombs during a wave of terror, killing a federal judge and a Black civil rights attorney.

The execution of Spencer was the ninth in Florida this year, after a record 19 executions in 2025 under Republican governor Ron De Santis.

Spencer killed his wife after he clashed with her teenage son over a period of a week in January 1992.

She was found with several stab wounds to the chest.

He was eventually sentenced to death after being convicted of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated battery.

The Supreme Court rejected his appeals last week, after lawyers argued executing him at such an old age would be cruel.

(c) Sky News 2026: Man, 74, becomes oldest man to be executed in Florida