Florida has carried out its second execution of the year, with Melvin Trotter, a 65-year-old man convicted of a brutal murder in the late 1980s, receiving a lethal injection at Florida State Prison. The execution took place at 6pm local time on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, amid last-minute legal appeals that ultimately failed to halt the process.
Details of the Crime and Conviction
Melvin Trotter was found guilty of first-degree murder for the killing of Virgie Langford, a shop owner in Palmetto, Florida, in 1986. Court records reveal that Langford was strangled and stabbed during a robbery at her store. A truck driver discovered her alive after the attack, and she managed to describe her assailant before succumbing to her injuries in the hospital.
Langford identified Trotter by his physical appearance and noted he wore a Tropicana employee badge with the name "Melvin" on it. Further evidence included a T-shirt with Langford's blood type found at Trotter's home and his handprint on a meat cooler at the crime scene.
Legal Appeals and Sentencing History
Trotter was initially sentenced to death in 1987, but the Florida Supreme Court overturned this due to a trial court error, ordering a new sentencing. In 1993, he was again sentenced to death. His lawyers recently argued against the execution, citing mismanagement of death penalty protocols by state corrections officials and his age as grounds for exemption.
Despite these appeals, the Florida Supreme Court denied them, and a final bid for commutation at the US Supreme Court was pending with only hours remaining before the execution. Trotter received a three-drug lethal injection, a method commonly used in Florida for capital punishment.
Context of Executions in Florida
This execution follows that of Ronald Palmer Heath, who was executed earlier this year for the 1989 murder of a traveling salesperson. Under Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida has seen a significant increase in executions, with a record-breaking 19 carried out in 2025 alone. This number surpasses any previous year since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the United States in 1976, where the prior record was eight executions.
Two more executions are already scheduled for next month in Florida, indicating a continued aggressive stance on capital punishment under the current administration. The state's approach has drawn attention to its death penalty protocols and the broader debate over the ethics and effectiveness of such sentences.
The case of Melvin Trotter highlights the lengthy legal processes involved in death penalty cases, often spanning decades, and raises questions about justice, aging inmates, and the finality of capital punishment in the modern era.
