{"id":4421,"date":"2026-06-25T14:06:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T14:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4421"},"modified":"2026-06-25T14:06:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T14:06:31","slug":"florida-to-execute-man-who-killed-his-wife-in-1992-on-thursday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4421","title":{"rendered":"Florida to execute man who killed his wife in 1992 on Thursday"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n article<\/span><\/div>

Dusty Ray Spencer is scheduled to be executed in Florida on Thursday night for the 1992 murder of his wife. Image is courtesy of the Florida Department of Corrections. <\/span> <\/p>

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Expand<\/div><\/div><\/div> <\/div>

STARKE, Fla.<\/strong> – <\/span>A 74-year-old man convicted of fatally stabbing his wife decades ago is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening at Florida State Prison.<\/p>

Florida execution schedule<\/strong><\/h2>

What we know:<\/p>

<\/div>

Dusty Ray Spencer, 74, is scheduled to receive a three-drug lethal injection starting at 6 p.m. Thursday. He was convicted of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated battery for the 1992 death of his wife, Karen Spencer.<\/p>

Court records show Spencer was arrested in December 1991 after choking and threatening to kill his wife. On Jan. 18, 1992, he beat his wife\u2019s teenage son with a clothes iron when the boy tried to stop an attack. About a week later, the teen found Spencer hitting his mother with a brick outside their home. The boy ran away to get help after his rifle misfired and Spencer threatened him with a knife. When police arrived, they found Karen Spencer dead with multiple chest stab wounds.<\/p>

Spencer legal history<\/strong><\/h2>

The backstory:<\/p>

Spencer was initially sentenced to death in 1992, but the Florida Supreme Court ordered a new sentencing in 1994 after finding the trial court mishandled evaluating aggravating and mitigating circumstances. He was resentenced to death the next year, and subsequent appeals have been denied.<\/p>

The state Supreme Court rejected Spencer’s appeals last week. His defense attorneys argued that his advanced age and health issues, including liver disease, present a heightened risk of pain and suffering that would constitute cruel and unusual punishment.<\/p>

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Supreme Court review<\/strong><\/h2>

What we don’t know:<\/p>

Officials have not yet announced whether the U.S. Supreme Court will grant a stay of execution, as a final appeal remains pending before the high court.<\/p>

Florida death penalty statistics<\/strong><\/h2>

By the numbers:<\/p>

If carried out, this will be the ninth execution in Florida this year, following a record 19 executions in 2025. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.<\/p>

A total of 47 people were executed across the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the nation, while Alabama, South Carolina and Texas tied for second with five executions each.<\/p>

Future Florida executions<\/strong><\/h2>

What’s next:<\/p>

Another execution is scheduled in Florida for July 14. Dennis Sochor, 74, was convicted of killing a woman hours into 1982 after meeting her at a New Year\u2019s Eve party.<\/p>

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A 74-year-old man convicted of fatally stabbing his wife decades ago is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening at Florida State Prison.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,25],"tags":[8,26],"class_list":["post-4421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-florida","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-florida"],"yoast_head":"\nFlorida to execute man who killed his wife in 1992 on Thursday - Tampa moving journal<\/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:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4421\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Florida to execute man who killed his wife in 1992 on Thursday - 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