A murderer who killed a travelling salesman in a deadly robbery has become the first to face the death penalty in Florida this year.
Ronald Palmer Heath was given the lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, in the north of the state, on Tuesday.
He was convicted of the 1989 murder of Michael Sheridan after conspiring with his brother, Kenneth Heath, to rob him.
The 64-year-old was already strapped down with an IV inserted into his arm when the curtain rose on the execution chamber at 6pm.
According to Sky’s US partner, NBC News, he was asked by the warden if he had any last words, and replied: “I’m sorry. That’s all I can say. Thank you.”
He showed little outward reaction as the three drugs were administered, closing his eyes and appearing to fall asleep, before becoming motionless. He was pronounced dead at 6.12pm.
Court records show that the Heath brothers met Mr Sheridan at a Gainesville bar on 24 May, 1989, where the travelling salesman brought them a drink.
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When he inquired whether the duo had any marijuana, they conspired to take him somewhere and rob him.
After stopping on a dirt road in an isolated area, Kenneth held up the victim at gunpoint.
However, Mr Sheridan initially refused to give the brothers anything, so Kenneth shot him in the chest.
Then the salesman, still alive, started emptying his pockets, but Ronald kicked him and stabbed him with a hunting knife.
Kenneth then shot their victim twice in the head.
After the brothers dumped Sheridan’s body in a wooded area, they returned to the bar to loot his rental car.
The brothers were caught after making multiple purchases with his credit cards.
Ronald was convicted of first degree murder, armed robbery, and multiple forgery charges, and sentenced to death.
But Kenneth made a plea deal and testified against his brother, according to Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP), a group campaigning against capital punishment.
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He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 25 years, and is now eligible for parole.
Court records describing the killing suggest that Ronald was the driving force, ordering Kenneth to shoot.
But FADP condemned the execution, saying: “Ronnie was put to death for a murder he did not commit.
“The undisputed trigger man in that crime, Ronnie’s brother Kenneth, received a life sentence with the possibility of parole.
“That means one day Kenneth may walk free on this earth, while Ronnie will be buried six feet under it.”
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Executions in Florida reached a new annual high in 2025, with 19 people put to death, smashing the previous record of eight in 2014.
The state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, oversaw more executions in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
FADP said Heath’s death continued an “execution spree that remains politicised, frantic, and disproportionate”.
