Live updates: Florida killer Michael Zack has been executed.
A drifter from Tallahassee who killed two women in the Florida Panhandle during a crime spree in 1996 has been executed.
Michael Duane Zack, 54, was sentenced to death in the 1996 Escambia County murder of Ravonne Smith during a crime spree that also included killing a woman, Laura Rosillo, in Okaloosa County.
Florida Death Row inmate Michael Zack has been executed
Michael Duane Zack, the Florida man on death row for robbing, sexually assaulting, and murdering a Pensacola area woman during a crime spree in 1996, was executed Tuesday night at Florida State Prison in Raiford.
When asked if he had any last words, Zack replied, “Yes sir,” lifting his head toward the observation window. “I love you all.”
Zack died by lethal injection, a cocktail administered by the execution team that includes a sedative, paralytic, and a drug to stop his heart. The drugs were administered at 6:02 and he was pronounced dead by 6:14 p.m., although there were no visible signs of breathing after the first minute.
The family of Ravonne Smith witnessed the execution but chose not to speak with the media following the execution.
Michael Zack statement released upon his death
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty shared a written statement by Zack moments after his execution. The statement, in part, follows:
"Twenty-seven years ago, I was an alcoholic and a drug addict. I did things that have hurt a lot ofpeople — not only the victims and their families and friends, but my own family and friends as well," Zack wrote. "I have woken up every single day since then filled with remorse and a wish to make my time here on earth meansomething more than the worst thing I ever did.
"When I got to death row, I substituted drugs and alcohol for happiness and positive relationships. I am sograteful to the guys on the row who took the time to teach me how to read and write. They changed mylife forever because their love and support allowed me to have pen pals and friends all over the world.John, Susan, Maria, Anna, and David — I treasure you and the unconditional love you have shared withme all these years. The ability to read and write also led me to my beloved wife and soulmate,Ann-Kristin. I will love her for eternity.
"I make no excuses. I lay no blame. But how I wish that I could have a second chance, to live out my daysin prison and continue to do all I can to make a difference in this world. To all my brothers on death row,please continue to help each other. Give each other hope and peace. Keep sharing the love andacceptance that you all showed a hillbilly from Kentucky."
Zack ended his statement by speaking directly to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
"And finally, to Governor Desantis and the Clemency Board: I love you. I forgive you. I pray for you."
Zack execution will be sixth in 7 months
After a three-and-a-half year hiatus brought on by COVID-19, DeSantis has signed death warrants for six death row inmates in seven months.
On Feb. 23, Donald Dillbeck, 59, was executed for the 1990 murder of Faye Vann outside a Tallahassee mall. Dillbeck was the first prisoner executed in Florida since 2019 and the 100th prisoner executed since the death penalty was reinstated in Florida in 1975, according to the Department of Corrections.
Executions in 2023
There have been 17 executions in 2023; five of them in Florida, where there have been 104 executions since 1976. In April 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation once again allowing death sentences to be passed by less than unanimous juries. Here’s who has been executed in Florida so far this year.
Louis Gaskin – Executed on April 12, 2023, after serving over three decades on death row for two murder convictions in 1990. He was known as the “Ninja Killer” for wearing an all-black ninja costume when he fatally shot two people in 1989. He was the 100th person in Florida to be executed.
Darryl Barwick – Executed on May 4, 2023, after serving on death row for several decades for a murder conviction after stabbing a 24-year-old in 1986 when he was only 19 years-old.
Duane Owen – Executed on June 15, 2023, after serving on death row for nearly four decades for the killing a 38-year-old woman and stabbing a 14-year-old teenage girl to death.
James Barnes – Executed on August 3, 2023, after serving 16 years on death row for admitting to the death of a second murder while serving a life sentence for killing his own wife in 1997.
Death penalty opponents send petitions to stop execution
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty presented Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with a petition signed by nearly 200 faith leaders from across the world this afternoon, asking DeSantis to commute Michael Zack’s sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The petition followed one earlier in the day that had about 5,000 signatures from people across the world that was addressed to DeSantis and the Florida Board of Clemency urging them to stop the execution. The petition was a joint effort by FADP, Catholic Mobilizing Network and Death Penalty Action.
“Our Catholic Church, through the Catholic Catechism, clearly teaches that capital punishment is always unacceptable because it is an ‘attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person’ (CCC 2257). The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have affirmed this unequivocal opposition to the use of the death penalty,” wrote Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network.
Of the 5,000 petitioners, 665 were Catholic.
“We do not forget or overlook the undeniable pain endured by Mr. Zack’s victims, Ravonne Smith and Laura Rosillo, their families and their loved ones. As a national Catholic community of faith, we acknowledge their unimaginable loss and pray for their continued healing,” Vaillancourt Murphy wrote.
Families of Michael Zack's victims will witness execution
Florida prison officials say that family members of victim Ravone Smith will witness Zack's execution.
Zack received the death penalty for murdering Smith in 1996 after she befriended him at an Escambia County bar. She was the second woman Zack met at a Panhandle bar that he was convicted of killing. Prior to killing Smith, Zack murdered Laura Rosillo in neighboring Okaloosa County. It is unknown whether Rosillo's family will be in attendance.
Michael Zack's family not allowed to witness execution
Zack met with his wife this morning, but she is not allowed to witness his execution, prison officials said. Death row inmates are only allowed to have a spiritual advisor and a legal representative. Zack's family is not prevented from being outside the prison during the execution, however.
Florida death row inmate Michael Zack requested no last meal
Michael Zack woke at 5:30 a.m. today, meeting first with his wife and later in the day with his spiritual advisor.
He declined a last meal, Florida prison officials said.
Prior to execution, Florida inmates may request a last meal. To avoid extravagance, the food to prepare the last meal must cost no more than $40 and must be purchased locally.
How will Zack be executed?
By 6 p.m. ET today, Zack will be strapped to a gurney in the death chamber at Florida State Prison, where, if all goes as planned, a three-drug cocktail will enter his veins through a needle.
Florida’s lethal injection cocktail consists of three chemicals. The first is an injection of etomidate, an anesthetic. The second injection is rocuronium bromide, a paralytic muscle relaxer, and the third is potassium acetate, which causes the heart to stop, followed by an injection of a saline solution. The executioner also injects a saline solution to ensure the drugs enter the inmate’s veins.
Florida administers executions by lethal injection or electric chair. In 2000, then-Florida Governor Jeb Bush signed legislation making lethal injection the state’s default method of execution amid controversy over the electric chair. The last inmate Florida executed by electrocution was Allen Davis in July 1999. Witnesses described blood streaming from Davis’ nose and onto his shirt, which drew widespread attention two years after an inmate’s mask burst into flames during a different Florida electrocution.
When will Zack be executed?
Barring any unexpected developments, Zack will be executed at 6 p.m. ET.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to halt the planned execution of Zack, setting the stage for him to die by lethal injection Tuesday at Florida State Prison.
Condemned to death: Michael Zack earned the sympathy of bar patrons across the Panhandle, then he killed them
The attorneys’ primary argument was that Zack should be shielded from execution because of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, which they said caused him to function as being “intellectually disabled.”
In appealing a ruling by the Florida Supreme Court and asking the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay of execution, Zack’s attorneys said “the medical community now recognizes that the unique, cognitive, practical and social impairments inherent to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (are) indistinguishable from those of Intellectual Developmental Disability.”
“At every opportunity since his trial, Mr. Zack has presented evidence of his prenatal alcohol exposure to the full extent allowed by then-contemporaneous scientific legal and legal standards,” the request said. “Evolving standards of decency have finally progressed to the tipping point that allows Mr. Zack to establish that his FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) disability affords him the same protections established in Atkins. To deny review would penalize Mr. Zack for being right too soon.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Florida execution today: Michael Zack death penalty. Live updates
