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Ronald Heath executed by Florida for 1989 murder of Michael Sheridan
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Heath and his brother reportedly met traveling salesman Sheridan at a Florida bar and began robbing him before killing him
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“I’m sorry,” Heath said in his final statement, according to the Associated Press. “That’s all I can say. Thank you.”
In 1989, Florida executed a man convicted of killing a traveling salesman.
Ronald Heath was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday, February 10, becoming the first person to be executed in Florida in 2026, The Associated Press, WCJB and WUFT reported.
Heath was convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a deadly weapon in the 1989 slaying of traveling salesman Michael Sheridan.
“I’m sorry,” Heath said in his final statement, according to the Associated Press. “That’s all I can say. Thank you.”
According to the Associated Press, Heath and his brother Kenneth met Sheridan at a bar in Gainesville, Florida, in May 1989 and went to smoke marijuana together.
Heath and his brother then plotted to rob Sheridan and take him to a remote area, where Kenneth shot him after Sheridan refused to give him anything, the Associated Press reported.
Heath then began kicking Sheridan and stabbing him with a hunting knife before throwing his body into the woods, the Associated Press reported.
The brothers were arrested after authorities identified Hiss after linking him to Sheridan’s credit card, the Associated Press reported.
Kenneth was also charged with murder and was sentenced to life in prison following a plea deal, the Associated Press and WUFT reported.
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According to media reports, Sheridan’s death was not the only murder linked to Heath. He had previously been jailed for 10 years for the murder of Michael Green when he was 16.
Then, days after Sheridan was killed, Heath was charged with Tony Hammett’s murder, although the case never went to trial.
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