Murderer opts for dessert in last meal before execution | US | News
A serial killer who killed five people in his youth was executed in Florida after eating his last meal on earth.
Frank Athen Walls, 58, was executed by triple-drug lethal injection Thursday, Dec. 18, at the Florida State Penitentiary for fatally shooting a man and his girlfriend during a home invasion in July 1987.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Walls’ request for a stay of execution early Thursday. Earlier in the day, he met with a visitor and a spiritual advisor and had a meal of steak, chicken and cheesecake.
Walls apologized in a statement before his execution.
Alex Lanfranconi, a spokesman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, took Walls’ words to heart, saying: “Good evening, everyone. I appreciate the opportunity to speak my mind. If any members of the family are here, I’m sorry for everything I’ve done, for the pain I’ve caused, and for everything you’ve gone through all these years.”
A total of 47 men have died from court-ordered executions in the United States this year, and more than a dozen are scheduled to be executed next year.
Florida executed more people than any other state in 2025, and DeSantis ordered more executions in a single year than any Florida governor since reinstating the death penalty in 1976. Florida’s previous high was eight executions in 2014.
Walls was convicted of two counts of murder and other charges and sentenced to death for the 1988 murders of Edward Alger and his girlfriend, Ann Peterson. The Florida Supreme Court overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial, where Walls was found guilty again in 1992 and sentenced to death.
Court records show Walls broke into the mobile home of the airman and his girlfriend at Eglin Air Force Base and tied up the couple, the AP reported. Alger broke free to attack Walls before Walls slit his throat and shot him in the head. Walls then shot Peterson.
Walls was arrested the day after the bodies were found and later confessed to the murders.
After the conviction, DNA evidence linked him to the rape and murder of a woman named Audrey Gygi in May 1987; Walls did not object. He also admitted responsibility for the murders of Tommie Lou Whiddon in March 1985 and Cynthia Sue Condra in September 1986.
