Florida execution warrant signed for 1998 child murder case

Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed an execution warrant for a man convicted in a 1998 child killing, marking what would be the 22nd execution carried out in Florida this year, according to reporting from North Escambia.

The development comes as a group of death row exonerees has appealed to Florida's next governor to reconsider the state's accelerated pace of executions. The exonerated individuals, who spent years on death row before being released, have raised concerns about the speed at which capital sentences are being carried out.

Florida has become one of the nation's most active states in executing death row inmates, with the pace raising questions among criminal justice advocates about due process and the reliability of convictions in older cases.