Staff Report
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In a significant development today, Governor Ron DeSantis authorized the execution of Ronald Palmer Heath. Heath was found guilty of the murder of Michael Sheridan, a man he encountered at the Purple Porpoise bar in Gainesville back in 1989.
Details from the Governor’s office reveal that on May 24, 1989, Ronald Heath and his brother Kenneth visited the Purple Porpoise Lounge in Gainesville. During their time there, they struck up a conversation with Michael Sheridan, who bought them a drink and inquired if they used marijuana. Seizing the opportunity, Heath suggested they rob Sheridan. He drove them to a secluded spot in Alachua County where they then smoked marijuana together.
In a sinister turn, Heath mimicked a gun with his hand and asked Kenneth, “Did you get it?” Kenneth then retrieved a handgun from the car, aimed it at Sheridan, and declared a robbery. When Sheridan resisted, Heath urged Kenneth to shoot him, resulting in a bullet to Sheridan’s chest. As Sheridan lay there, Heath kicked and stabbed him. Attempting to slit Sheridan’s throat, Heath found the knife too dull and resorted to sawing at his neck. Following Heath’s insistence, Kenneth fired two more shots into Sheridan’s head to ensure his death. They subsequently moved Sheridan’s body further into the woods and set his rental car ablaze.
The following day, the brothers went on a shopping spree using Sheridan’s credit cards. Several store clerks later identified Heath during these transactions, leading to his arrest weeks later. Police discovered Sheridan’s watch along with other items purchased with the stolen cards inside Heath’s trailer in Georgia.
Ultimately, Heath was convicted on charges of first-degree murder, armed robbery, and sixteen counts related to forgery. At the time of this murder, Heath was only six months out of prison, having served ten years of a thirty-year sentence for a second-degree murder conviction from 1977, when he was just sixteen. Furthermore, Heath is suspected of involvement in another murder in Jacksonville around the same period he killed Sheridan.
The execution date has been set for Tuesday, February 10, at 6 p.m.
