Florida plans to execute a 77-year-old Vietnam War veteran for killing a sheriff’s deputy nearly 40 years ago, a step that would push the state’s 2026 execution total to 18 and bring it close to its own modern record.
Quick Take
- Governor Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for William Reaves Jr., with execution set for October 20, 2026, at 6 p.m.
- Reaves was convicted of murdering Indian River County Deputy Sheriff Richard Raczkoski on September 23, 1986.
- If carried out, the execution would be Florida’s 18th of the year, nearing the state’s record pace.
- Reaves, now 77, is a Vietnam War veteran whose case drew a clemency appeal from more than 100 fellow veterans.
A Four-Decade-Old Case Reaches Its Final Stage
Governor DeSantis signed the death warrant on September 18, 2026, setting Reaves’s execution for October 20 at Florida State Prison in Raiford. Court filings with the U.S. Supreme Court confirm the date, time, and legal basis, tracing back to Reaves’s February 25, 1992, conviction and his March 31, 1992, death sentence for killing Deputy Raczkoski. Local news outlets confirmed the same details within hours of the warrant’s signing.
The crime itself happened nearly 40 years ago, on September 23, 1986, in Indian River County. Reaves was first convicted and sentenced to death in 1987. The Florida Supreme Court later threw out that conviction because of a conflict of interest involving the prosecutor. A new trial in 1992 produced the conviction and sentence the state now relies on.
The State’s Case Rests on a Confession and Decades of Review
Florida’s response to Reaves’s request for a stay describes him as someone who confessed to the killing. Court records state that Reaves has already gone through a direct appeal, state postconviction review, and a full round of federal habeas corpus proceedings, meaning the case has passed through nearly every standard layer of judicial review available to a death row inmate.
Reaves asked both the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court to pause the execution while his final appeals were pending. That request kept the case in legal limbo even as the October 20 date stayed on the calendar, a common final-stage pattern in capital cases where a scheduled date and an open appeal exist side by side until a court rules.
Florida’s Execution Pace Sets It Apart From Every Other State
Reaves’s case does not stand alone. Florida carried out 19 executions in 2025, its highest yearly total since the state resumed capital punishment, and has outpaced every other state in 2026 as well. At one point this year, Florida alone accounted for 57 percent of all executions carried out nationwide, a gap no other state comes close to matching.
Florida is scheduled to execute 77-year-old William Reaves Tuesday for the 1986 murder of Indian River County Deputy Richard Raczkowski, marking the state's 18th execution this year under Gov. Ron DeSantis. https://t.co/oKJoeGTLJu
— FOX 35 Orlando (@fox35orlando) October 20, 2026
That pace has made Governor DeSantis’s final term a defining chapter in the modern history of American capital punishment. Executions once scheduled a few times a year in Florida are now happening roughly every two weeks, a shift that has drawn national attention well beyond any single case, including Reaves’s.
Age, Service, and Clemency Add Another Layer
Reaves’s age and military record have become part of the public conversation around his case. He is 77 years old and served in the Vietnam War, and more than 100 fellow veterans signed on to a clemency appeal asking the state to spare his life. Florida has executed a disproportionate share of older death row inmates in recent years, with 16 of 23 executions nationwide involving people over 62 happening in Florida alone.
None of those factors change the legal status of Reaves’s conviction or sentence, which courts have upheld through every stage of review available to him. But they explain why his case has drawn attention beyond the courtroom, as Florida’s execution calendar continues to move faster than any other state’s in the country.
Sources:
nbcnews.com, supremecourt.gov, wptv.com, independent.co.uk, deathpenaltyinfo.org
