For Immediate Release
Friday, September 25, 2026
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — At 6 p.m. on September 29, 2026, Florida plans to execute U.S. Army veteran Curtis Wilkie Beasley, Sr. for the 1995 murder of Carolyn Monfort in Polk County. If completed, this will be Florida’s 16th execution of 2026. In 2025, the state shattered a modern day record with 19 executions.
“Florida is on pace to break its own record for executions, and the governor continues to sign warrants without as much as an explanation for why each person has been chosen,” said Grace Hanna, Executive Director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP). “Carolyn Monfort’s murder was a terrible loss. Thirty-one years later, the State is demanding another death without showing what it will accomplish.”
If the execution proceeds, Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) staff, members, and supporters will gather for a peaceful vigil beginning at 5 p.m. ET outside the execution chamber at Florida State Prison, 23916 NW 83rd Ave. in Raiford. Additional vigils will take place across the state, including in Pinellas County, the Jacksonville metropolitan area, North Port, Pensacola, and Tallahassee. Herman Lindsey, Florida’s 23rd death row exoneree, FADP board member, and Executive Director at Witness to Innocence will be attending and speaking at the vigil in Pinellas county.
Through his lawyers, Mr. Beasley has appealed to the United States Supreme Court on four grounds:
An arbitrary and capricious selection process
Mr. Beasley’s attorneys challenged Florida’s warrant selection process, arguing that the governor can choose who will be executed and when without providing a reason. They asked why Mr. Beasley was selected now, while others who have spent decades under death sentences have not been. The Florida Supreme Court rejected the claim, citing the governor’s broad discretion.
A compressed warrant period
The governor signed Mr. Beasley’s death warrant on August 26, setting his execution just over a month later. His attorneys argued that the short period left too little time to investigate his declining health and pursue his claims, particularly because they are private registry attorneys at a small firm rather than lawyers at a state or federally-funded capital defense agency with dedicated staff and resources. The Florida Supreme Court rejected the claim.
Age and declining health
Mr. Beasley is 77. His attorneys reported that he requires a wheelchair for more than very short distances and is experiencing depression, brain fog, and risk factors for vascular dementia. They argued that executing him in his current condition would be cruel and unusual punishment. The Florida Supreme Court rejected the claim, holding that the Florida constitution’s Conformity Clause does not allow it to recognize an age-based protection the U.S. Supreme Court has not recognized.
A divided jury
Mr. Beasley received a death sentence after a jury voted 10–2 to recommend it. His attorneys challenged the sentence because two jurors did not agree that he should be put to death; the Florida Supreme Court rejected that claim as well. Florida is one of only two states to allow for death sentences to be imposed after a non-unanimous jury vote.
“Twelve people heard this case, and they did not agree on death,” Hanna said. “In nearly every other state, Mr. Beasley would be serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole right now. But because this is Florida, he is preparing to join the dozens of people executed after divided jury votes. His attorneys are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reaffirm what it said in 2016: a death sentence should not rest on a jury vote that was not unanimous.”
###
Legal Sources:
U.S. Supreme Court: 26A405
Florida Supreme Court: SC2026-1399
Circuit Court (Charlotte County): 53-1995-CF-004842-A1XX-XX