He was convicted of the 1989\u00a0murder<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0of Michael Sheridan after conspiring with his brother, Kenneth Heath, to rob him.<\/p>\n The 64-year-old was already strapped down with an IV inserted into his arm when the curtain rose on the\u00a0execution<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0chamber at 6pm.<\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n When he inquired whether the duo had any marijuana, they conspired to take him somewhere and rob him.<\/p>\n After stopping on a dirt road in an isolated area, Kenneth held up the victim at gunpoint.<\/p>\n However, Mr Sheridan initially refused to give the brothers anything, so Kenneth shot him in the chest.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Then the salesman, still alive, started emptying his pockets, but Ronald kicked him and stabbed him with a hunting knife.<\/p>\n Kenneth then shot their victim twice in the head.<\/p>\n After the brothers dumped Sheridan’s body in a wooded area, they returned to the bar to loot his rental car.<\/p>\n The brothers were caught after making multiple purchases with his credit cards.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ronald was convicted of first degree murder, armed robbery, and multiple forgery charges, and sentenced to death.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 25 years, and is now eligible for parole.<\/p>\n Court records describing the killing suggest that Ronald was the driving force, ordering Kenneth to shoot.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But FADP condemned the execution, saying: “Ronnie was put to death for a murder he did not commit.<\/p>\n “The undisputed trigger man in that crime, Ronnie’s brother Kenneth, received a life sentence with the possibility of parole.<\/p>\n “That means one day Kenneth may walk free on this earth, while Ronnie will be buried six feet under it.”<\/p>\n Executions in\u00a0Florida<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0reached a new annual high in 2025, with 19 people put to death, smashing the previous record of eight in 2014.<\/p>\n The state’s Republican governor,\u00a0Ron DeSantis<\/a><\/strong>, oversaw more executions in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.<\/p>\n FADP said Heath’s death continued an “execution spree that remains politicised, frantic, and disproportionate”.<\/p>\n Source: \u00a0![\"Florida](\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/768x432\/skynews-florida-state-prison_7161804.jpg?20260211081649\")
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<\/a> news.sky.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"