{"id":2188,"date":"2026-06-24T09:01:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T09:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=2188"},"modified":"2026-06-24T09:01:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T09:01:19","slug":"catholic-leaders-urge-desantis-to-halt-record-setting-florida-execution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=2188","title":{"rendered":"Catholic leaders urge DeSantis to halt record-setting Florida execution"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Florida\u2019s record-setting pace of executions has drawn renewed opposition from the Catholic Church, which is urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to halt the scheduled execution Thursday of a 74-year-old veteran.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=2186\">Man looking at 90 years in prison for injuring Pinecrest cop\u2019s foot gets probation<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The appeal comes as Florida continues an unprecedented run of executions under DeSantis, who oversaw a record 19 executions last year and has argued that carrying out death sentences delivers justice for victims\u2019 families. The Catholic Church, which has a long history of opposing the death penalty, believes capital punishment ignores the inherent dignity of all human life and has long advocated for death penalty alternatives. Catholic leaders in Florida argue that the there are better ways to protect the public from violent crimes and in Spencer\u2019s case, the availability of life without parole is a moral way to punish Spencer without taking his life.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>. If carried out, Spencer would become the oldest person executed in Florida history and the ninth execution this year.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, the policy and advocacy arm of the church in Florida, is calling for the governor to commute Spencer\u2019s sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Vigils and protests are being held around the state, including one in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday evening, in opposition to the execution.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In <u>a letter<\/u> to DeSantis, executive director of the group Michael Sheedy acknowledged the brutal nature of Spencer\u2019s crimes but appealed to the governor to spare the 74-year-old\u2019s life.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr. Spencer\u2019s crime was truly heinous and merits a severe punishment by the state. The murder of Mrs. Spencer, partially carried out in front of her son Timothy, was brutal,\u201d wrote Sheedy. \u201cNevertheless, we ask that you spare the life of Mr. Spencer, who was sexually abused as a child by his father and had a paranoid personality disorder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Miami\u2019s Archbishop Thomas Wenski said on Tuesday that it\u2019s possible to stand in solidarity with the families of murder victims without seeking another death in return.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe commutation to life imprisonment would serve the common good of all by helping break our society\u2019s spiral of violence; an \u2018eye for an eye\u2019 mentality will just end up making us all blind,\u201d Wenski told the Miami Herald.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Wenski also said that a life sentence in prison was \u201cjust punishment\u201d which would allow for \u201ccontinued reflection of wrongdoers on the grave harm they have caused.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>Catholic Church opposes death penalty<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Last year, Florida nearly doubled the national average of executions with a record-breaking 19 executions carried out. Texas is the only other state that has ever exceeded 18 exe\u00adcu\u00adtions in a year\u2019s span, doing so back in 2009.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Florida\u2019s uptick in executions is due, in part, to the state\u2019s new death penalty laws. In 2023 DeSantis signed a law that allows juries to recommend a death sentence with an 8-4 vote instead of unanimously. DeSantis pushed for the change after the Parkland school shooter, who killed 17 students and faculty members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in 2018, was spared from the death penalty in 2022.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Spencer was found guilty in 1994 of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and attempted second-degree murder.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=2184\">Man arrested in Miami Gardens cold-case killing of teen, police say<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Court documents describe multiple violent altercations between Spencer and his wife and one arrest after Spencer choked and hit his wife Karen and threatened to kill her. Spencer\u2019s teenage son was awakened in the night in 1992 to find his father beating his mother in the head with a brick, according to court documents. When the police arrived at the scene, they found Karen dead. She had been stabbed four or five times in the chest, cut on the face and arms, and had suffered blunt force trauma to the back of the head.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>But Catholic leaders opposing Spencer\u2019s execution say their position is not intended to diminish the suffering of victims or their families. Instead, they argue that even people convicted of the most heinous crimes retain an inherent human dignity that should prevent the state from taking their lives. The Church has long believed that human life is sacred and that only God can decide when to end a person\u2019s life.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Sheedy echoed that sentiment in his letter and referenced Saint John Paul II who said \u201cNot even a murderer loses his personal dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The Catholic Church sent similar letters to the governor before the eight other executions that were carried out in 2026.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In Daytona Beach, Father Phil Egitto\u2019s congregation at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church has been protesting the death penalty for over 30 years.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The day of every scheduled execution, Egitto organizes a bus to transport around 50 parishioners to Florida State Prison in Raiford, about three hours away from his church. There Egitto leads a prayer service with traditional funeral prayers and live worship music in order to bring \u201clove and mercy\u201d to the scene of the execution.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs Catholics we care, and we\u2019re trying to make a statement,\u201d Egitto said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to get the word out that executions aren\u2019t the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Egitto said he believes that executions are a part of a \u201cbroken system\u201d which disproportionately impacts people with mental health issues, low-income people and people of color.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt does not really bring healing, it is not justice, it\u2019s simply retribution and revenge,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><i>This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and donors in South Florida\u2019s Jewish and Muslim communities, including Khalid and Diana Mirza and the Mohsin and Fauzia Jaffer Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=2183\">South Florida woman turns ALS diagnosis into mission to inspire others to fight<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Florida Catholics urge Gov. DeSantis to halt Dusty Ray Spencer\u2019s execution, citing age, abuse, mental illness and calls for commutation to life without parole.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-florida-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Catholic leaders urge DeSantis to halt record-setting Florida execution - Florida Moving Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=2188\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Catholic leaders urge DeSantis to halt record-setting Florida execution - Florida Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Florida Catholics urge Gov. 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