Florida Executes William Reaves for the 1986 Killing of a Deputy

Four decades after a sheriff's deputy was shot dead outside a Vero Beach convenience store, the State of Florida carried out the sentence. William Reaves, 77, was executed by lethal injection Tuesday evening at Florida State Prison near Starke for the 1986 killing of Indian River County Deputy Richard Raczkowski.

The injection began at 6 p.m., and Reaves was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m., according to reporting carried by the Associated Press. Asked whether he had any last words, he answered, "No, I do not."

The execution was Florida's 18th of 2026 under Gov. Ron DeSantis, leaving the state one short of the record 19 it set last year. Florida now accounts for 18 of the 32 executions carried out nationwide this year, by AP's count.

A Deputy Answering a Call

The case began in September 1986, when Reaves called 911 from a payphone outside a Vero Beach convenience store. According to court records cited by AP, a gun fell from Reaves' shorts and the two men struggled over it. Reaves got the weapon back. The deputy tried to run, and Reaves shot him four times. The deputy died.

Reaves was first sentenced to death about a year after the shooting. The Florida Supreme Court threw out that sentence over a prosecutor's conflict of interest, and he was sentenced to death again in 1992.

The Final Appeals

The Florida Supreme Court rejected Reaves' last appeals the week before, denying a stay on Oct. 14. His lawyers took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday, and the justices turned it down Tuesday afternoon without comment.

AP described Florida's protocol as three drugs: a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart. As AP reported it, the defense argued that the method is flawed. Lawyers also argued that jurors never heard that the Department of Veterans Affairs had rated Reaves 100% disabled by post-traumatic stress disorder from his service in Vietnam. Courts rejected both claims, and the Florida Supreme Court has upheld the protocol before.

Reaves' military record drew a late appeal for mercy. More than 100 veterans signed a letter to DeSantis on Monday asking him to halt the execution. "As veterans, we know that service carries obligations in both directions," they wrote, according to the USA Today Network's live coverage. Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty counts Reaves as the 14th veteran executed during DeSantis' tenure; that figure comes only from the group and has not been independently confirmed.

Inside the Chamber

There were 29 witnesses, the USA Today Network reported. A Department of Corrections spokesman said Reaves' last meal was crackers and juice.

For the deputy's family, the wait was long. His brother spoke at a briefing after the execution. "Richard finally has justice," he said, as quoted by the Florida death penalty Substack.

Reaves was also part of a pattern this year. According to an AP report carried by Action News Jax before the execution, he was the eighth prisoner over the age of 70 that Florida has executed in 2026. In July, the state executed two men on the same day, the first time any state had done so in nearly a decade.

What Comes Next

DeSantis leaves office in January. Florida has scheduled the execution of Jesse Guardado, 64, for Nov. 5. Guardado was convicted of robbing and killing a woman in 2004 to buy drugs. If that sentence is carried out, Florida will tie its own record of 19 executions in a single year.