Florida is preparing to carry out its 11th execution of 2025, setting a grim new record for the state in a single year. On Thursday, Curtis Windom, 59, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke for the 1992 murders of his girlfriend, her mother, and another man.
The execution comes after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal late Wednesday. If carried out, Windom would become the 30th person executed in the United States this year, with Florida leading all states in executions under Governor Ron DeSantis.
The 1992 Murders
Court records detail that on November 7, 1992, Windom learned that a man he claimed owed him $2,000, Johnnie Lee, had won money at a greyhound track. Windom purchased a revolver and ammunition at Walmart before locating Lee and shooting him multiple times, including at close range.
After killing Lee, Windom drove to his girlfriend Valerie Davis’s apartment, where he fatally shot her in front of a witness. He then encountered Davis’s mother, Mary Lubin, and shot her twice inside her car. Another man was wounded during the rampage.
Windom was sentenced to death for the murders, along with a 22-year prison sentence for attempted murder.
Family Divided
Windom’s daughter, Curtisia Windom, whose mother was among the victims, has spoken out against his execution.
“We’ve all been traumatized. It hurt a lot. Life was not easy growing up. But if we could forgive him, I don’t see why people on the street who haven’t been through our pain have a right to say he should die,” she told the Orlando Sentinel.
Legal Battles and Appeals
Over the decades, Windom’s legal team filed numerous appeals, often focusing on his alleged mental health struggles and claims that his trial lawyer failed to adequately present mitigating evidence.
The Florida Supreme Court rejected those claims, ruling that prosecutors would have introduced damaging evidence that Windom was a drug dealer and that two of his victims had been police informants.
Despite repeated filings, courts consistently upheld his death sentences.
Record-Breaking Year for Florida
Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, Florida’s highest annual execution total had been eight in 2014. This year, the state has already exceeded that number, making 2025 its deadliest year for executions.
Florida now leads the nation in executions, surpassing Texas and South Carolina, which have each carried out four so far this year. A 12th execution, that of David Joseph Pittman, 63, is already scheduled for September.
The most recent Florida execution occurred on August 19, when Kayle Bates, 67, was executed for the abduction and murder of a Panhandle insurance worker.
Method of Execution
Florida uses a three-drug lethal injection protocol consisting of a sedative, a paralytic, and a final drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.
As the state prepares to put Windom to death, the debate over capital punishment in Florida continues to intensify. Supporters argue it delivers justice for victims, while critics highlight issues of fairness, mental health considerations, and the morality of executions.
