Execution Record-Breaker – 77-Year-Old Killer

Wooden letter tiles spelling DEATH PENALTY on a dark background — Photo: frank333 / Shutterstock

Florida plans to execute a 77-year-old man Tuesday for beating a Polk County woman to death with a hammer more than three decades ago.

Story Snapshot

Curtis Beasley, 77, was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery and grand theft auto in the 1995 killing of Carolyn Monfort.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant, setting execution for September 29, 2026, at Florida State Prison.
The Florida Supreme Court rejected Beasley’s final state appeal and denied a stay of execution on September 22, 2026.
Beasley’s case marks Florida’s 16th execution of 2026, part of a record-breaking pace under DeSantis.

The 1995 Killing That Sent Beasley To Death Row

Carolyn Monfort died in August 1995 in Dundee, a small town in Polk County. Authorities say Beasley beat her to death with a hammer before stealing her car. A jury convicted him of first-degree murder, robbery, and grand theft auto for the crime, and he has sat on Florida’s death row ever since.

A 77-year-old Florida man convicted of the hammer beating death of a woman is set to become the 16th person executed this year in the nation’s busiest death chamber.https://t.co/8XVg25HVc5

— ABC News (@ABC) September 29, 2026

News outlets covering the case, including the Associated Press and the Tampa Bay Times, have consistently described the same core facts: a hammer attack, a stolen vehicle, and a Polk County woman left dead. That consistency across independent reporting leaves little room for confusion about what happened in 1995.

Courts Close The Door On Further Appeals

Beasley’s legal team fought the execution up to the end. The Florida Supreme Court issued its final ruling on September 22, 2026, affirming the denial of postconviction relief and rejecting a stay request. The court’s order made clear the mandate would issue immediately, with no rehearing to follow.

That kind of finality is standard practice for Florida’s highest court once a capital case reaches this stage. It closes off further state-level review just days before an execution, which leaves federal courts as the only remaining venue for last-minute challenges.

Beasley’s attorneys reportedly took that route, pressing arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in the final days.

Age And Health Become Part Of The Public Debate

Beasley’s age has become a central talking point in coverage of his case. At 77, he would be among the oldest people executed in Florida since the state reinstated capital punishment in 1976. His attorneys raised claims about cognitive decline, arguing that executing him now amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

Florida’s Supreme Court has heard similar arguments in other cases and consistently rejected them. In a related 2025 ruling, the court stated it has “long held” that age and cognitive decline alone do not make a death sentence unconstitutional. That legal standard applied squarely to Beasley’s final appeal.

Part Of A Record-Setting Year For Florida Executions

Beasley’s execution is not an isolated event. Florida has carried out far more executions than any other state in recent years, accounting for roughly 40 percent of the nation’s executions in 2025 alone. Governor DeSantis signed 19 death warrants that year and has continued at a similarly aggressive pace through 2026.

By September 2026, Florida had already executed 15 people that year, more than every other state combined. Beasley’s case brings that total to 16, reinforcing Florida’s position as the clear national outlier at a time when most states have slowed executions or stopped carrying them out altogether.

Curtis Wilkie Beasley, 77, is scheduled to be executed in Florida on Tuesday for the 1995 killing of Carolyn Monfort. Beasley was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery and grand theft auto and sentenced to death in 1998.

Beasley is due to receive a three-drug lethal… pic.twitter.com/OBmJqAC14J

— India Today Global (@ITGGlobal) September 29, 2026

Supporters of the state’s approach point to cases like Beasley’s as proof the justice system is finally following through on sentences juries handed down decades ago. Critics argue the speed of Florida’s warrant-signing leaves too little room for review. Either way, the facts of Monfort’s 1995 murder and Beasley’s conviction remain the same.