Florida carried out its second execution of 2026 Tuesday night, putting Melvin Trotter to death for the 1986 stabbing murder of 70-year-old grocery store owner Virgie Langford. The 65-year-old inmate was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. after receiving a three-drug lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke.

Trotter's execution follows Florida's record 19 executions in 2025 under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has overseen more death sentences in a single year than any Florida governor since capital punishment's reinstatement in 1976. The state Supreme Court recently denied appeals to block the execution, despite arguments from Trotter's attorneys about potential protocol mismanagement and his advanced age.

The execution marks a continuation of Florida's aggressive capital punishment policy, with two more scheduled for March. Since 1976, Florida has executed 99 inmates, and with DeSantis's administration prioritizing death warrants, the state has emerged as the nation's execution leader, accounting for nearly half of all U.S. executions in 2025.