Florida man set to be executed for killing 2 during a home invasion
STARKE, Florida — A man convicted of fatally shooting a man and a woman during a home invasion and later confessing to three other killings is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening.
Frank Athen Walls, 58, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Walls was convicted of two counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping, burglary and theft and sentenced to death in 1988. The Florida Supreme Court later overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial, and Walls was again convicted and sentenced to death in 1992.
This would be the 19th death sentence carried out in Florida in 2025, extending the state’s record for total executions in a single year.
According to court records, Walls broke into the Florida Panhandle mobile home of Eglin Air Force Base Airman Edward Alger and his girlfriend, Ann Peterson, in July 1987. Walls tied up the couple, but Alger managed to break free and attack Walls. Walls slit Alger’s throat and shot him in the head as the airman continued to fight. Walls then went to attack Peterson and shot her as she struggled.
Walls was arrested the day after the bodies were discovered when his roommate informed police of Walls’ strange behavior. During a search of the home, investigators said they found items at the crime scene, and Walls later admitted to the murders.
After his conviction, DNA evidence linked Walls to the rape and murder of a woman, Audrey Gygi, in May 1987. Walls pleaded no contest, avoiding another trial and a possible death sentence. Walls also admitted responsibility for the murders of Tommie Lou Whiddon in March 1985 and Cynthia Sue Condra in September 1986 as part of a deal with prosecutors.
Walls’ lawyers appealed in state court, saying his intellectual disability and other medical problems should keep him from being executed, but the Florida Supreme Court ruled against Walls last week. Appeals were still pending before the United States Supreme Court.
So far this year, 46 men have died following court-ordered executions in the United States, and more than a dozen more people are expected to be executed in 2026.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, the highest annual total of executions in Florida was eight in 2014. Florida executed more people than any other state this year, followed by Alabama, South Carolina and Texas with five each.
All executions in Florida are carried out by lethal injection using a sedative, paralytic and heart-stopping drug, according to the state Department of Corrections.
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