DeSantis Signs Death Warrant for 1990 Palm Bay Killer Near Indian River Border

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant Friday for a man convicted of murdering his Palm Bay neighbor after she discovered him burglarizing her home in 1990. The execution marks the sixth death warrant DeSantis has signed this year.

Chadwick Willacy, 58, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison on April 21, according to public records.

The case stems from a 1990 killing in Palm Bay, a Brevard County city bordering Indian River County. Willacy murdered a neighbor who interrupted him during a residential burglary, according to public records.

Florida has maintained one of the most active execution schedules in the nation under DeSantis. Death warrants signed by a Florida governor set a specific execution date and trigger a final round of legal review, including appeals that condemned inmates may file in the weeks leading up to the scheduled date.

The April 21 execution date gives Willacy and his attorneys time to pursue any remaining legal challenges before the sentence is carried out at Florida State Prison in Raiford.

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