Florida executes man convicted of killing his wife

Florida authorities executed 61-year-old William Frances Silvia via lethal injection on August 18, 2026, at the Florida State Prison in Raiford. The execution followed an order signed by Governor Ron DeSantis.

Silvia was convicted of first-degree murder for the 2006 shooting death of his estranged wife, Patricia Silvia, and the attempted murder of his mother-in-law, Betty Woodward. According to court records, Silvia arrived at a family gathering with a shotgun in an attempt to reconcile with his wife. Following a dispute, he shot both women; Patricia died from the attack, while Woodward survived.

Silvia was originally sentenced to death in 2008, though the sentence was later overturned on appeal. A retrial in 2018 reinstated the death penalty. Before his execution, Silvia expressed regret, claiming his wife's death was an accident. This marks Florida's 13th execution of 2026, a figure that significantly exceeds the seven executions recorded in the rest of the United States so far this year.