Catholic leaders across Florida are urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to halt the scheduled execution of death row inmate Dusty Ray Spencer, arguing that life imprisonment without parole would provide justice while preserving human dignity.
The appeal comes as Florida continues a historic pace of executions under DeSantis, who oversaw a record 19 executions in 2025 and has already authorized eight executions in 2026. If Spencer is put to death as scheduled on June 25, he would become the ninth person executed in Florida this year and the oldest inmate ever executed by the state at age 74.
