
A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop was executed Tuesday evening in Florida. Billy Leon Kearse, 53, became the third person put to death by the state this year, following a record 19 executions in 2025.
Kearse was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke, after receiving a three-drug injection. He had been condemned for the 1991 killing of Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish.