Florida has three executions scheduled for September: Harold Gene Lucas, Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., and Curtis W. Beasley. If all three are carried out, the state will reach 16 executions so far in 2026.
According to a report published by FOX 35 Orlando, the executions are scheduled for September 1, 10, and 29, respectively, and correspond to murder cases that occurred between 1976 and 1996.
Harold Gene Lucas: almost half a century since the crime
The first on the list is Harold Gene Lucas, 74 years old, whose execution by lethal injection is scheduled for September 1st.
Lucas was convicted of the first-degree murder of 16-year-old Jill Piper and two counts of attempted murder during an attack that took place in Bonita Springs in August 1976.
According to court records, Lucas and Piper had been in a romantic relationship that deteriorated shortly before the crime.
The man arrived armed at the teenager's home and opened fire on her and others present there. Piper was shot multiple times and died, while two other individuals survived.
Lucas was found guilty in 1977. His sentence went through state and federal courts for decades and was reviewed multiple times, although the death penalty remained in place.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed his execution order on July 30.
Daniel Owen Conahan Jr.: murder following a photo offer
The second condemned is Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., 72 years old, whose execution is scheduled for September 10.
Conahan was convicted of the murder and kidnapping of 21-year-old Richard Montgomery, which took place in Charlotte County in April 1996.
According to documents from the Florida Supreme Court, Montgomery had told family and friends that someone had offered him money to pose nude. He left on April 16 to meet that person and did not return.
His body was found the next day in a wooded area. The autopsy determined that he died from strangulation, and the injuries indicated that he had been tied up. The investigation later linked Conahan to the victim.
Conahan was found guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping on August 17, 1999, and sentenced to death on December 10 of that same year.
The Florida Supreme Court upheld the sentence in 2003, and DeSantis signed the execution order on August 11th.
Authorities have also suspected Conahan in other homicides that occurred in southwest Florida, although the death sentence to be carried out in September specifically pertains to the murder of Montgomery.
Curtis W. Beasley: sentenced for killing a woman in his home
The last of the three is Curtis W. Beasley, 77 years old, whose execution is scheduled for September 29.
Beasley was convicted of the murder of Carolyn Monfort, which occurred in 1995 in Polk County. The man was temporarily staying at Monfort's house while doing maintenance work on some apartments managed by her.
The victim's daughter found her mother's body in the laundry area of their home after not hearing from her for two days. Monfort had suffered multiple blows to the head, and near her body was a bloodied hammer wrapped in kitchen towels.
Court documents place the murder on August 21, 1995. Beasley was found guilty in February 1998 and sentenced to death in May of that year, in addition to receiving sentences for robbery and for stealing the victim's car.
Beasley maintained his innocence throughout the investigation, trial, and sentencing process. DeSantis signed his execution order on August 26, making him the third condemned inmate scheduled for September.
Florida maintains a record pace for executions
The three executions would continue the rapid pace of capital punishment in Florida.
On August 18th, William Frances Silvia was executed by lethal injection for the murder of his estranged wife, becoming the thirteenth inmate executed by the state in 2026.
If Lucas, Conahan, and Beasley are executed on the scheduled dates, they will respectively become numbers 14, 15, and 16 of the year.
The rhythm had already been reflected during the summer. On July 14, Dennis Michael Sochor, 74 years old, was executed, who had spent nearly four decades on death row.
Days later, Florida scheduled a double execution for the end of July, something that hadn't happened in the state for over six decades.
The executions of James Aren Duckett and Dominick Anthony Occhicone were carried out on July 28.
After Duckett's death, authorities from Polk County stated that the former police officer was also linked to the murder of another teenager that occurred in 1987, a crime for which he was never prosecuted.
Florida also set a modern record in 2025, when it carried out 19 executions, more than double its previous high of eight.
In 2026, it maintains by far the highest execution rate in the country: up until August 18, it had carried out 13 of the 23 executions recorded in the United States, 57% of the national total, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
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