Florida Man Faces Execution for 1996 Double Murder Next Month

A Florida man convicted of murdering two women in 1996 is scheduled to be executed next month. Samuel Lee Smithers, aged 72, will face lethal injection on October 14, 2025, following a death warrant signed by Governor Ron DeSantis. This marks a continuation of the governor’s significant push for capital punishment, as he has overseen more executions in a single year than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

Smithers has been sentenced to death for the brutal killings of Christy Cowan and Denise Roach, whose bodies were discovered in a rural pond in Plant City, Florida. His execution will be the 14th in Florida this year, highlighting the state’s increasing use of the death penalty. DeSantis signed the warrant for Smithers just days before the scheduled execution of another convict, David Joseph Pittman, further emphasizing the swift pace of capital punishment under his administration.

The case against Smithers dates back to May 28, 1996, when the bodies of Cowan and Roach were found. Court records indicate that he had met both women at a Tampa motel, where he paid for their services. At the time, Smithers was working on landscaping a property that included three ponds in the area.

On that fateful day, the property owner, Marion Whitehurst, who had known Smithers through church, became suspicious when she found him cleaning an axe in the carport. She noticed a pool of blood and reported her concerns to law enforcement. Although the blood had been cleaned up, deputies discovered drag marks leading to one of the ponds, where the bodies were ultimately located. Both victims had been severely beaten and strangled.

After his arrest, Smithers confessed to the murders. His trial in 1999 resulted in two death sentences, which have since been upheld by the Florida Supreme Court. The state has executed 30 individuals in 2025 alone, with Florida leading the nation in executions this year. The previous record for executions in a single year in Florida was eight, set in 2014.

The last execution in Florida occurred on August 28, 2025, when Curtis Windom, convicted of multiple murders, was executed by lethal injection. As the legal landscape around the death penalty continues to evolve, Smithers’ case adds another chapter to Florida’s ongoing debate over capital punishment.