Florida is scheduled to execute Curtis Beasley on Tuesday, making the 77-year-old death row inmate the 16th person put to death in the state this year. Beasley was convicted in the 1995 murder of a 62-year-old woman in Polk County, and he has spent roughly three decades on death row.
Ahead of the scheduled execution, Catholic leaders have asked Governor Ron DeSantis to issue a stay. Their argument centers on the idea that the state can pursue justice without carrying out an execution. Under DeSantis, Florida has now conducted 43 executions, and two more are already scheduled for October, putting the state on pace for a record year.
The case raises questions that reach beyond any single courtroom: whether age should factor into death penalty decisions, how quickly the state should carry out sentences, and what role clemency plays when religious groups make a final appeal. No matter where you land on capital punishment, the pace of executions in Florida is something every resident should be paying attention to.
What do you think, Suncoast? Does a 77-year-old inmate’s age change how you view this case?
