STARKE, Florida — Florida carried out its 18th execution of the year on Tuesday, putting to death William Reaves, 77, by lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, the Associated Press reported. Reaves was sentenced to death for the 1986 shooting of Indian River County Deputy Richard Raczkowski.

The execution was set for 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Reaves' final appeal without comment on Tuesday afternoon, and the Florida Supreme Court had rejected his final appeals last week, according to AP and subsequent reporting on the execution.

According to court records cited by AP, Deputy Raczkowski responded to a 911 call at a Vero Beach convenience store in September 1986. While the two men spoke, a gun fell out of Reaves' shorts, they struggled over the firearm, and Reaves regained control of it and shot the deputy four times as he tried to run away. The deputy later died of his wounds.

Florida Department of Corrections spokesman Jordan Kirkland said Reaves awoke at 5 a.m. on Tuesday and remained compliant during the day. He had a last meal of crackers and juice and met with four visitors — his sister, his brother, his nephew and a friend — and with a spiritual adviser, AP reported.

Reaves, a Vietnam War veteran, became Florida's eighth prisoner over the age of 70 to be executed this year, highlighting the nation's aging death-row population. In a letter dated October 19, 100 military veterans urged Governor Ron DeSantis to grant clemency, arguing that Reaves' sentencing jury never heard full evidence about service-connected PTSD; the Department of Veterans Affairs had later rated him 100% disabled for PTSD. The clemency appeal did not stop the execution.

Florida set a state record with 19 executions last year. Another execution is scheduled for November, which would tie that mark. DeSantis, who leaves office in January, has said his goal is to bring justice to victims' families who have waited decades for death sentences to be carried out.

Sources: Associated Press, October 20, 2026; reporting on the completed execution and the veterans' clemency appeal, October 20, 2026.