Florida executes oldest inmate in modern state history for wife’s 1992 murder
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A 74-year-old Florida man was executed Thursday for his conviction in the 1992 fatal stabbing of his wife, making him the oldest inmate executed in modern state history.
Dusty Ray Spencer was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. after authorities executed him with a triple-drug injection at the Florida State Penitentiary near Starke.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry to my family. I commit my soul and my spirit into your hands. I’m on my way, Lord. I’m on my way. Amen,” Spencer said when asked if he had any final words.
After a few minutes of labored breathing, he stopped all movements. The principal then shook Spencer and shouted his name several times without responding. The person was checked by a doctor and was determined to be dead.
FLORIDA BREAKS 50-YEAR-OLD EXECUTIVE RECORD WITH NINTH DEATH SENTENCE IMPOSED THIS YEAR
Dusty Ray Spencer, 74, was executed Thursday for his conviction for fatally stabbing his wife in 1992. (Florida Department of Corrections)
Spencer was convicted of the first-degree murder of his wife, Karen Spencer, in November 1992. His family did not make any statement after his execution.
According to Florida Department of Corrections records from 1924, the oldest inmates previously executed by the state were 72 years old: Samuel Lee Smithers on Oct. 14, 2025, for the 1996 killings of two women, and R. Charlie Gifford on Feb. 21, 1951, for the 1950 shooting death of State Representative Charles Schuh Jr.
Another 74-year-old Florida inmate, Dennis Sochor, is scheduled to be executed July 14 for killing a woman a few hours after midnight on New Year’s Day 1982, after meeting her at a New Year’s Eve party.
The oldest person executed in the United States in modern times was 83-year-old Walter Leroy Moody Jr., who was executed in Alabama in 2018 for sending mail bombs and killing a federal judge and a black civil rights lawyer during a wave of Southern terrorism.
It was Spencer’s ninth execution in Florida this year.
FLORIDA MAN WHO DRAW HIS GUN ON A POLICE AND KILLED HIM TO BE EXECUTED AFTER FINAL OBJECTIONS WAS REJECTED
Dusty Ray Spencer was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. after authorities executed him with a triple-drug injection at the Florida State Penitentiary near Starke. (Curt Anderson/AP Photo)
19 people will be executed in Florida in 2025 record setting The most people executed in a single year in the Sunshine State. Before last year, the record for executions in a year since the death penalty was reinstated in Florida in 1976 was eight, set in 1984 and 2014.
Florida also executed more people than any other state last year; Alabama, Texas and South Carolina ranked second with five executions each. 47 people will be executed across the USA in 2025.
Spencer was arrested in December 1991 after threatening to strangle and kill his wife, Karen. While sitting in prison, he called his wife and warned her that when he was released, he would finish what he started.
According to authorities, on January 18, 1992, Spencer beat his wife’s teenage son with an iron when he tried to stop him from attacking Spencer’s mother.
About a week later, the boy went to check on the commotion outside their home and saw Spencer hitting his mother in the head with a brick.
It was the ninth execution of Dusty Ray Spencer in Florida this year. (Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press)
The teenager tried to shoot Spencer with a rifle, but the gun did not fire. Spencer threatened the boy with a knife and the boy ran away to seek help. When police arrived at the scene, Spencer’s wife was found dead with multiple stab wounds to her chest.
Spencer was first sentenced to death in 1992 after being convicted of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated battery.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
Two years later, the Florida Supreme Court ordered his new sentence after finding that the court erred in assessing aggravating and mitigating circumstances. Spencer was sentenced to death the following year and subsequent appeals were rejected.
Last week, the state Supreme Court rejected Spencer’s objections, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the final appeal earlier Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
