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A 61-year-old Florida death row inmate has been executed by lethal injection after being convicted of killing his estranged wife and seriously injuring his mother-in-law.
William Frances Silvia was pronounced dead at 6:11pm Tuesday at Florida State Prison near Starke, marking Florida's 13th execution of the year.
Silvia was secured to a gurney with an IV in his arm as the execution chamber opened to witnesses shortly before 6:00pm.
A priest remained at his feet as officials administered the three-drug lethal injection.
Asked whether he wanted to make a final statement, Silvia offered a brief apology while maintaining that the shooting had not been intentional.
“I’m sorry all this happened. It was an accident. I never meant to hurt her,” he claimed.
Several minutes after the drugs were administered, a prison warden approached Silvia and called his name while shaking him to check for any response.
Silvia did not respond, and medical staff subsequently examined him before confirming his death.
Silvia was sentenced to death after being convicted of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder over the 2006 shooting of his estranged wife, Patricia Silvia, and her mother, Betty Woodard.
According to court records, Silvia bought a shotgun and drove to Woodard's home in the Orlando area, where Patricia had been staying following the couple's separation two months earlier.
The family was reportedly having an outdoor cookout when Silvia arrived. Authorities said an attempt to reconcile failed, after which Silvia returned to his truck, retrieved the shotgun and opened fire on both women.
Silvia was initially sentenced to death in 2008.
That sentence was later overturned following legal challenges involving Florida's sentencing procedures, but he was sentenced to death again following a new penalty hearing in 2018.
His lawyers made further attempts to halt the execution, arguing that public defenders had been unable to adequately represent him because of overlapping work involving another death row prisoner.
The Florida Supreme Court rejected the appeal, while a final request for a stay was also turned down by both the Florida Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court just hours before the execution.
Patricia's sister, Pamela Wyatt, said after the execution that Silvia's actions had devastated far more lives than just the person he killed.
“Nothing that happens today can give us those stolen years. No execution can return Patricia to her children and give her the grandchildren she dreamed of knowing,” Wyatt said.
“But today can be an opportunity to remember that Patricia’s life was bigger than the terrible act that ended it.”
Silvia's death comes as Florida continues to account for a significant proportion of executions carried out across the United States.
Florida carried out 19 of the 47 executions recorded nationwide in 2025, its highest annual total since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
The state has already conducted 13 executions in 2026, accounting for 13 of the 23 carried out across the country so far this year.
Two additional executions are currently scheduled to take place in Florida in September.
