A 74-year-old Florida man was put to death Thursday for the 1992 fatal stabbing of his wife, becoming the oldest person executed in the state’s modern history.
Dusty Ray Spencer was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. after receiving a three-drug lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, officials said.
Asked whether he had any final words, Spencer said, “Sorry, sorry to the family. Into thy hands I commit my spirit and my soul. I’m on my way, Lord. I’m on my way. Amen.”
Witnesses said Spencer appeared to breathe heavily for several minutes before all movement stopped.
The warden then shook him and called out his name multiple times, but Spencer did not respond. A medic examined him, and he was declared dead.
Spencer was found guilty in November 1992 of first-degree murder in the killing of his wife, Karen Spencer. Her relatives did not issue a statement after the execution.
Florida Department of Corrections records dating to 1924 show the state’s previously oldest executed inmates were both 72: Samuel Lee Smithers, executed Oct. 14, 2025, for the 1996 murders of two women, and R. Charlie Gifford, executed Feb. 21, 1951, for the 1950 shooting death of state Rep. Charles Schuh Jr.
Another 74-year-old Florida death row inmate, Dennis Sochor, is scheduled for execution on July 14. He was convicted in the killing of a woman he met at a New Year’s Eve party, hours after midnight on New Year’s Day in 1982.
The oldest person executed in modern times in the US was Walter Leroy Moody Jr., 83, who was put to death in Alabama in 2018, for sending mail bombs during a wave of Southern terror, killing a federal judge and a Black civil rights attorney.
Spencer’s execution was the ninth in Florida so far this year.
In 2025, 19 people were put to death in Florida, setting a record for the most executions in one year in the Sunshine State.
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Before last year, Florida’s record for executions in a year since the death penalty was restored in 1976 was eight in 1984 and 2014.
Florida also executed more people last year than any other state, with Alabama, Texas and South Carolina tied for the second-most with five each. Across the US, 47 people were executed in 2025.
Spencer was arrested after choking and threatening to kill his wife, Karen, in December 1991.
As he was sitting in jail, he called his wife and warned her that he would finish what he started when he was released.
On Jan. 18, 1992, Spencer beat his wife’s teenage son with a clothes iron when the teen attempted to stop Spencer from attacking his mother, according to officials.
About a week later, the boy went to check out a commotion outside their home and saw Spencer hitting his mother in the head with a brick.
The teen attempted to shoot Spencer with a rifle, but the gun misfired. Spencer threatened the boy with a knife, and the boy ran away to search for help.
When police arrived, Spencer’s wife was found dead with several stab wounds to the chest.
Spencer was initially sentenced to death in 1992, after he was convicted of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated battery.
Two years later, the Florida Supreme Court ordered his new sentencing after finding that the trial court had mishandled evaluating aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
Spencer was resentenced to death the following year, and subsequent appeals were denied.
Last week, the state Supreme Court rejected Spencer’s appeals, and the US Supreme Court rejected a final appeal earlier on Thursday.
