Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
A man convicted of shooting a man and a woman to death during a home robbery and later confessing to three other murders will be executed in December under a death warrant signed Tuesday. republican Governor Ron DeSantisWhich is setting record speed in death sentence.
Frank Ethan Walls, 58, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on December 18 Florida State prison. Walls will be the 19th person to be executed in Florida in 2025, with DeSantis carrying out more executions in a single year than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous record was set in 2014 with eight hangings.
DeSantis signed the death warrant two days before the execution of Richard Barry Randolph. Another convicted murderer, Mark Allen Geralds, is scheduled to die on December 9.
Walls was convicted of two counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of burglary and two counts of theft and sentenced to death in 1988. The Florida Supreme Court later overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial, where Walls was re-convicted and sentenced to death in 1992.
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 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 are expected to file appeals with the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
So far 43 people have been hanged in America in 2025. Florida leads the way in a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis. The state’s most recent execution was the Nov. 13 fatal injection of Brian Frederick Jennings, who was convicted of raping and murdering his neighbor.