Florida to execute three inmates in September amid record pace

Florida is set to execute three death row inmates in September 2026: Harold Gene Lucas on Sept. 1, Daniel Owen Conahan Jr. on Sept. 10, and Curtis Wilkie Beasley on Sept. 29. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the warrants as the state continues an accelerated pace of capital punishment after a modern-era record of 19 executions in 2025.

Florida has already carried out 13 executions in 2026, including William Frances Silvia on Aug. 18. If all three September dates proceed, the state will reach 16 executions under DeSantis this year, matching the number of death warrants signed in 2026 alone.

Key Takeaways

• Three lethal injections are scheduled for Sept. 1, Sept. 10, and Sept. 29 at Florida State Prison.
• Florida broke its modern-era execution record with 19 deaths in 2025; the prior high was eight in 2018.
• The cases span from 1976 to 1996, reflecting decades-long appeals before warrants were signed.
• Catholic bishops asked DeSantis to stay Harold Gene Lucas's execution; the governor has declined similar requests before.
• DeSantis says capital punishment delivers justice for victims' families after lengthy court battles.

Who is scheduled to be executed in September?

Harold Gene Lucas, 74, faces lethal injection on Sept. 1 for the 1976 murder of his 16-year-old former girlfriend, Jill Piper, in Bonita Springs. Court records say Lucas, then 24, shot Piper and her friends with a rifle after a week of arguments. DeSantis signed his death warrant on July 30, 2026, capping roughly 50 years on death row.

Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., 72, is scheduled for Sept. 10. Known as the "Hog Trail Killer," Conahan was convicted of luring 21-year-old Richard Alan Montgomery to a remote Charlotte County area in 1996 under the pretense of paying for nude photos. Montgomery's body was found in carpet padding the next day. Conahan's warrant was signed Aug. 11, 2026.

Curtis Wilkie Beasley, 77, is set for Sept. 29. Beasley was convicted of bludgeoning 62-year-old Carolyn Monfort with a hammer in her Polk County laundry room in August 1995. DeSantis signed Beasley's warrant on Aug. 26, the 16th death warrant issued in Florida this year, according to WKMG.

Why is Florida's pace of capital punishment accelerating?

Florida set a modern-era record when 19 inmates were executed in 2025, shattering the previous high of eight in 2018. The modern era covers the period since capital punishment was reinstated nationally in 1976 after a four-year halt.

DeSantis has argued that lengthy appeals deny justice to victims' families. "I don't know if closure is the right word, because you'll probably never get full closure. But at least knowing justice was served is something that was very important to a lot of people," he said at a July 28 Florida Sheriffs Association conference, WKMG reported.

The governor has not granted prior stay requests from the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops. Executive Director Michael Sheedy asked DeSantis this week to halt Lucas's execution, writing that lifelong imprisonment can address heinous crimes without the state taking a life.

What happened in the Curtis Beasley case?

Beasley, an acquaintance of Monfort's family, was staying at her Dundee home while doing maintenance work at an apartment complex owned by her son-in-law. Monfort's son discovered her body on Aug. 24, 1995, with severe head injuries and defensive wounds. A hammer head wrapped in dishtowels lay nearby.

Investigators said Beasley stole Monfort's car and $800 in rent money before fleeing to Alabama, where he was arrested five months later at a hotel. DNA on a shirt found under a guest-room bed matched Monfort's blood. A jury voted 10-2 in 1998 to recommend death, and Beasley maintained his innocence at sentencing.

For more coverage of high-profile cases and legal developments, see our True Crime & Unsolved Mysteries hub. Additional details on Florida's execution schedule are available from FOX 13 Tampa Bay.