Florida Supreme Court Upholds Child Murderer's Death Sentence as DeSantis Ramps Up Executions

TALLAHASSEE—Florida can use new death penalty methods in inmate executions. Gov. Ron DeSantis broke his personal record for most death warrants signed in a year. And the state Supreme Court upheld a lower court's decision to execute a man who brutally murdered his young nephews.

Thursday and Friday of last week were rife with pro-death penalty news, further solidifying the state's first-in-the-nation approach toward death row executions.

The strides come as DeSantis, nearing the end of his time in office, closes in on Florida's all-time record of eight executions carried out in a year.

What Happened?

The Florida Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Mark Wilson, convicted of killing his sister-in-law's 12- and 14-year-old sons in their sleep, will be executed for their 2020 murders. This upheld a lower court's decision and squashed Wilson's plethora of arguments claiming illegal actions by the jury and meth intoxication should prevent him from receiving the death penalty.

Between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Aug. 26, 2020, in Melrose, Wilson brutally murdered 12-year-old Robert Baker and 14-year-old Tayten Baker before taking his girlfriend to a 9 a.m. appointment to confirm a home pregnancy test.

Wilson, his girlfriend Cindy, and their 14-month-old daughter had moved into a shed on the Bakers' property just five days before the murders. It was owned by Sarah, Cindy's sister, who lived at the scene of the crime with her three sons and husband.

Wilson, supposedly convinced that the teenage boys were sexually abusing his daughter, used a hammer and sharpened fillet knife to viciously murder the two in their sleep. The wounds were so severe their throats had been cut to the bone using a "sawing" motion, and their heads bashed in multiple areas.

He was arrested soon after he confessed his crimes to his mother, who turned him in and wore a wire to secure an on-air confession.

Though Florida has yet to schedule a date for Wilson's execution, a new law signed the same day of the Supreme Court's decision could impact how Wilson and the 109 other death row inmates awaiting execution will be dispatched.

DeSantis and the Death Penalty

HB 903, which takes effect July 1, expands Florida's death penalty options from lethal injection—the primary method—and electrocution to any method not deemed unconstitutional. And because no tactic has ever been declared unconstitutional, this leaves the door open for hangings, lethal gas, firing squad, or potential new, never-before-seen methods.

This law is breaking ground in the death penalty sphere, making Florida the first state to explicitly allow any constitutional method to be used on prisoners. This changes current law, which only allows other tactics if lethal injection or electrocution were to be declared unconstitutional.

A day later, DeSantis signed another new law adding an aggravating factor for capital sentencing if a victim was at a school activity, religious activity, or public government meeting.

This isn't Florida's first foray into "first in the nation" status for executions. In 2023, the Sunshine State legalized the execution of child rapists and lowered the threshold for juries to recommend the death penalty from a unanimous decision to an 8-4 supermajority.

Both of those laws were heavily backed by DeSantis, who's harped on the "law and order" chord since he first took office. On Friday, he signed his seventh death warrant this year, surpassing his personal record of six approved executions in 2023.

It's also just one death warrant shy of the state's record of eight executions in a year, first set by Gov. Bob Graham in 1984 and tied by Gov. Rick Scott in 2014.