DeSantis signs death warrant for Florida’s scheduled 22nd execution

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for Willie Seth Crain, 80, whose execution is scheduled for Dec. 10 for the 1998 murder of 7-year-old Amanda Brown in Hillsborough County; her body was never found. Crain was convicted of first-degree murder, and investigators cited Brown’s blood found in his bathroom and on his clothing; he has maintained his innocence. The execution would be part of a record-setting pace in Florida, where 19 executions have already been carried out this year, with two others scheduled before Crain’s. Death-penalty opponents, including people exonerated after being on Florida’s death row, are urging Gov.-elect Byron Donalds to pause executions for six months and commission an independent review, while Donalds has said violent criminals should face the full weight of justice.