Samuel Lee Smithers, 72, was executed by lethal injection Tuesday evening at Florida State Prison, marking the state’s 14th execution of 2025, a new record, the Associated Press reported .

Smithers was convicted in 1999 of two counts of first-degree murder for the 1996 slayings of Christy Cowan and Denise Roach, AP said. Prosecutors said he lured each woman from a Tampa motel to a rural property in Plant City, where they were beaten, strangled and their bodies dumped in a pond.

According to WSMV 4 , at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, officials pronounced Smithers dead after his execution by lethal injection. He declined to make a final statement, responding merely “No, sir” when asked.

His defense had argued his advanced age, 72, and possible health concerns should bar execution, but the Florida

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