Melvin Trotter, 65, was put to death by lethal injection Tuesday evening at Florida State Prison in Starke for a 1986 murder of a Manatee County grocery-store owner.
After being administered a three-drug injection, Trotter was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m., by the state Department of Corrections.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied Trotter’s motion for a stay of execution after he raised claims that the DOC failed to follow lethal injection procedures in violation of his constitutional rights, and that executing a 65-year-old man constituted cruel and unusual punishment.
The court held that the claim about lethal injection procedures was speculative and that Trotter failed to demonstrate the risk of serious harm. As for his age, the court reaffirmed that only those under 18 at the time of the crime are exempt.
Trotter was sentenced to death for the June 1986 murder of Virgie Langford, 70, who was found by a truck driver on the floor at the back of Langford’s Grocery Store in Palmetto, according to court documents.
“She had suffered a large abdominal wound which resulted in disembowelment; there were a total of seven stab wounds,” a 1990 Florida Supreme Court decision upholding Trotter’s conviction stated. “She told the driver that she had been stabbed and robbed. Several hours after the surgery for her wounds, the victim went into cardiac arrest and died.”
The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops last week asked DeSantis to commute Trotter’s sentence to life in prison without parole.
“Florida is one of the only states that allows a death sentence to be given without the full confidence of the jury making it widely recognized as unreliable,” wrote Michael Sheedy, the conference’s executive director. “Melvin’s life was shaped by severe trauma, instability, and intellectual limitations that were never meaningfully addressed in court.”
The conference has unsuccessfully made similar requests before executions throughout the year.
Sheedy raised questions about the deterrence being served in pointing to Melvin’s age and having spent nearly four decades on death row. Sheedy also noted that the state is ramping back up its pace of executions.
“The state of Florida scheduled Melvin’s execution exactly two weeks after the scheduled execution of Ronald Heath (Feb. 10) and with the execution of Billy Leon Kearse scheduled the following week (March 3),” Sheedy stated. “This pace indicates that Florida intends to execute individuals at the same rate it did last year establishing capital punishment as routine.”
Kearse, 53, is scheduled to be put to death March 3 for the 1991 killing of Fort Pierce police officer Danny Parrish during a traffic stop.
DeSantis has also signed the death warrant for Michael King, 54, to be executed March 17 for the 2008 murder of a North Port woman Denise Amber Lee, 21.
Trotter was the second execution carried out this year by the state.
Heath, 64, was put to death by lethal injection on February 10 for a 1989 murder outside Gainesville.
Florida in 2025 set a modern-era record with 19 executions. The previous record was eight executions in 1984 and 2014. The modern era represents the time since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, after a 1972 U.S. Supreme Court decision halted it.
–Jim Turner, News Service of Florida
Dusty says
Another victim that finally receives the justice they deserved just 30 year too late. Imagine all the taxpayers resources that could have been used elsewhere instead of feeding and guarding this murderer for 30 plus years.
FedUp says
At this rate, Florida will be able to rent death row beds to other states and keep ole Sparky running at peak performance. Keep up the great work, Governor!
JimboXYZ says
His 15 minutes ? Not cruel & unusual. Cruel & unusual is leaving a 70 year old to bleed out like he did ? Interesting, that he wanted the senior citizen stay of execution. All of those are weak excuses for his life. We all have had some degree of trauma, instability, even our own intellectual limitations. He had 4 decades of death row. He had to have realized this day would come. Some might find 4 decades on death row both cruel & unusual. I guess he was “dead man walking”, had to known something was going down when they showed up asking what he wanted to have for dinner ? I would think the lethal injection is similar to expiring for natural causes for body organ failure. Takes them about 12-15 minutes to be certain anyone has expired. And the lethal injection has to be no different than getting morphined up for a natural causes death ? Just give them enough Fentanyl that has been confiscated in a drug raid, that has crossed the border ? If illegal drugs become legal for this purpose ? Then it’s not that inhumane & also a waste-less disposal of confiscated drugs ? He’d be out of his mind in no time at all. How much pain for cruel & unusual can that really be ?
“After being administered a three-drug injection, Trotter was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m., by the state Department of Corrections.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied Trotter’s motion for a stay of execution after he raised claims that the DOC failed to follow lethal injection procedures in violation of his constitutional rights, and that executing a 65-year-old man constituted cruel and unusual punishment.”
“Melvin’s life was shaped by severe trauma, instability, and intellectual limitations that were never meaningfully addressed in court.”
Al says
With a little luck Ron can empty death row by the end of the year and save the state a lot of money. In the mean time all these lawyers that come up with these stupid arguments for these criminals should have to spend a month with them living in their house with their family. Let’s just all forget about his victim because their lives don’t matter only the criminal. After all the victim didn’t suffer they enjoyed being killed by these scumbags. Liberal BS is sickening and I’m glad I live in a state that doesn’t recognize they’re absurd line of vitriol.