TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida is set to carry out its first execution of 2026 following a death warrant signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican known for his aggressive use of the death penalty. Ronald Palmer Heath, 64, will face execution by lethal injection on February 10 at Florida State Prison, marking a significant moment as DeSantis continues to make headlines for capital punishment decisions.

This execution follows a record-breaking year in 2025, during which DeSantis authorized the execution of 19 inmates, surpassing any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous high was set in 2014, with eight executions carried out. Heath’s case is a stark reminder of the governor’s firm stance on capital punishment.

Heath was convicted back in 1990 for the first-degree murder of a traveling salesman, robbery with a deadly weapon, and several forgery offenses. The crime, which took place in May 1989, unfolded when Heath and his brother, Kenneth, met Michael Sheridan at a Gainesville bar. The trio decided to leave the bar to smoke marijuana together, a decision that would soon turn fatal for Sheridan.

According to court documents, the Heath brothers concocted a plan to rob Sheridan during their encounter. Ronald Heath drove them to a secluded area where Kenneth Heath confronted Sheridan with a handgun. After Sheridan refused to comply with their demands, Kenneth Heath fatally shot him in the chest, sealing their fates in the eyes of the law.

At some point, the brothers plotted to rob the other man, investigators said. Ronald Heath drove the group to a remote area, where Kenneth Heath pulled a handgun on Sheridan. The man initially refused to give the brothers anything, and Kenneth Heath shot Sheridan in the chest.

As Sheridan emptied his pockets, Ronald Heath began kicking the man and stabbing him with a hunting knife, prosecutors said. Kenneth Heath then shot Sheridan twice in the head.

The brothers dumped Sheridan’s body in a wooded area and returned to the Gainesville bar to take items from his rental car. The brothers made multiple purchases with Sheridan’s credit cards the next day at a Gainesville mall.

Ronald Heath was arrested several weeks later at his Douglas, Georgia, home after investigators connected him to the stolen credit cards. Officers recovered clothing purchased with the stolen cards, as well as Sheridan’s watch, according to court records.

Kenneth Heath was also charged with Sheridan’s murder, but he was sentenced to life in prison as part of a plea agreement.

Attorneys for Ronald Heath are expected to file appeals to the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis. The state’s final execution of 2025 was the Dec. 18 lethal injection of Frank Athen Walls, who was convicted of fatally shooting a man and his girlfriend during a home invasion robbery.