Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 4, 2023 / 11:55 am
The state of Florida executed a convicted murderer on Tuesday evening after pleas from Catholic bishops and other anti-death-penalty advocates fell on deaf ears.
Michael Zack III, 54, was executed by lethal injection at 6:14 p.m. on Oct. 3, the Florida Department of Corrections said in a news release. It is the state’s most recent execution since August, the fifth carried out by the state this year, and the 10th since 2018.
Zack had been convicted of two 1996 murders: He stabbed Ravonne Smith to death and later beat to death Laura Rosillo.
The execution was carried out despite repeated pleas from anti-death-penalty activists, including the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, which had urged Gov. Ron DeSantis to commute Zack’s sentence.