STARK, FL– A man convicted of shooting a police officer with his service weapon during a traffic stop is scheduled to be executed Tuesday evening in Florida.
Billy Leon KearseThe 53-year-old is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6 p.m. at the Florida State Prison near Stark. Kearse was initially sentenced to death in 1991 after being found guilty of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm.
The Florida Supreme Court found that the trial court failed to give jurors certain information about the aggravating circumstances and ordered a new verdict. Kearse was re-sentenced to death in 1997.
This is the third death penalty in Florida scheduled for 2026, after There were 19 executions recorded last year Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has presided over more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The highest number before that was eight executions in 1984 and 2014, under former governors Bob Graham and Rick Scott, respectively.
According to court records, Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish stopped Kearse for driving the wrong way on a one-way street in January 1991. When Kearse was unable to produce a valid driver’s license, Parrish ordered Kearse out of his car and attempted to handcuff him.
A struggle ensued, and Kearse grabbed Parrish’s firearm, prosecutors said. Kearse fired 14 times, hitting the officer nine times in the body and four times in his body armor. A nearby taxi driver heard the shots and used Parish Radio to call for help.
Parrish was taken to a nearby hospital where he died of his injuries, officials said. Meanwhile, police used license plate information that Parrish had called before approaching Kearse to identify the attacker’s car and home address, where Kearse was arrested.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court rejected Kearse’s appeals. His lawyers said he was unconstitutionally denied a fair penalty phase and that his mental disability made his execution unconstitutional.
Final appeals are pending Tuesday before the U.S. Supreme Court.
A total of 47 people They were executed in the United States in 2025. Florida led the way with a wave of death warrants signed by DeSantis, far surpassing the states of Alabama, South Carolina and Texas, which each carried out five executions.
Besides the two executions in Florida this year, Texas and Oklahoma have each executed one person so far.
Two more executions are already scheduled to take place in Florida this month. Michael Lee King, 54, is scheduled to die on March 17, and James Arryn Duckett, 68, is scheduled to be executed on March 31.
All executions in Florida are carried out by lethal injection using a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.