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A man convicted of shooting a man and woman to death during a home robbery and later confessing to three other murders will be executed Thursday evening.
Frank Ethan Walls, 58, will be given a lethal injection at 6 p.m. Florida State prison near Stark. Walls was convicted of two counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping, burglary and theft and was sentenced to death in 1988. The Florida Supreme Court later overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial, and Walls was re-convicted and sentenced to death in 1992.
It will be the 19th death sentence carried out in Florida in 2025, tying the state record for total executions in a year.
According to court records, Walls broke into the Florida Panhandle mobile home of Eglin Air Force Base Airman Edward Alger and his girlfriend, Ann Peterson, in July 1987. Walls tied up the pair, but Algeria managed to break free and attack Walls. Walls slit Alger’s throat and when the airman continued to fight he shot him in the head. Walls then went to attack Peterson and shot her while she struggled.
Walls was arrested the day after the body was found after his roommate told police about Walls’ strange behavior. During a search of the home, investigators reported finding objects from the crime scene, and Walls later confessed to the murders.
After his conviction, dna evidence Walls was linked to the rape and murder of a woman, Audrey Gigi, in May 1987. Walls pleaded no contest to avoid another trial and the possible death penalty. As part of a deal with prosecutors, Walls also admitted responsibility for the murders of Tommy Lou Whidden in March 1985 and Cynthia Sue Condra in September 1986.
Walls’ lawyers filed an appeal in state court, claiming he should be ineligible from execution because of his intellectual disability and other medical issues, but the Florida Supreme Court ruled against Walls last week. Appeals were still pending before the US Supreme Court.
A total of 46 people have died by court-ordered executions in the US so far this year, and more than a dozen more people will be put to death in 2026.
Eight people were executed last year in Florida in 2014, the most since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Florida has executed more people this year than any other state. Alabama, South Carolina And texas With five each.
According to the state Department of Corrections, all executions in Florida are carried out by lethal injection using a sedative, a paralyzer and a drug that stops the heart.
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