A man known by the ominous moniker “Deacon of Death” faced execution on Tuesday evening, concluding a nearly three-decade-long chapter following his conviction for two murders in Plant City.
Samuel Smithers, who was 72 at the time of his execution, held the position of a church deacon when he took the lives of Christie Cowan and Denise Roach back in 1996.
In a related incident, a Tampa pastor has been apprehended after allegedly brandishing a firearm during a city council forum, authorities report.
According to investigators, Smithers had engaged both women for sexual services before tragically ending their lives and disposing of their bodies in a local pond.
Smithers was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. following a lethal injection. When offered a final opportunity to speak, he simply replied, “no sir,” as noted by Alex Lanfranconi, spokesperson for Governor Ron DeSantis.
“What do you define a serial killer as?” Latimer recalled after the initial arrest. “We’ve got two bodies here. This subject killed two individuals over a 10-day period.”
Smithers was sentenced to death in 1999 and has remained on death row ever since.
His execution marks Florida’s 14th of the year, the most in state history.
“Florida is currently executing people at the fastest rate in our state’s history and also the fastest rate in the country,” said Grace Hanna, organizer with Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
On Tuesday, the group delivered a petition with thousands of signatures to the governor, urging a major overhaul of the state’s death penalty system.
“The last comprehensive study found Florida’s death penalty costs taxpayers $51 million more per year than life in prison,” Hanna said.
The group also held vigils across Florida, including in the Tampa Bay area, as they do with all executions in the state.
“The father of one of the victims, Christie Cowan, has always opposed the execution,” Hanna said. “He’s in his 80s now and still feels this won’t bring him closure. These were terrible crimes, and I can’t make any excuse for that. We have to show respect for the victims but not with more killing.”
Two more executions are scheduled in Florida before the end of the year.
