Florida sets execution date for man convicted of killing a traveling salesman
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — A man convicted of killing a street vendor during a robbery is set to become Florida’s first execution in 2026 under a death warrant signed Friday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who approved a record 19 executions last year.
Ronald Palmer Heath, 64, is expected to die by lethal injection on Feb. 10 at Florida State Prison. DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since reinstating the death penalty in 1976. The previous record was set in 2014 with eight executions.
Heath was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery with a deadly weapon and several forgery charges in 1990.
According to court records, Heath and his brother, Kenneth Heath, met traveling salesman Michael Sheridan at a Gainesville bar in May 1989. After spending some time at the bar, the three men agreed to go elsewhere to smoke marijuana.
At one point, the brothers plotted to rob the other man, investigators said. Ronald Heath led the group to a remote area, where Kenneth Heath pointed a handgun at Sheridan. The man initially refused to give the brothers anything and Kenneth Heath shot Sheridan in the chest.
As Sheridan emptied his pockets, Ronald Heath began kicking the man and stabbing him with a hunting knife, prosecutors said. Kenneth Heath then shot Sheridan twice in the head.
The brothers dumped Sheridan’s body in a wooded area and returned to the Gainesville bar to retrieve items from his rental car. The next day, the brothers made several purchases using Sheridan’s credit cards at a Gainesville shopping center.
Ronald Heath was arrested several weeks later at his home in Douglas, Georgia, after investigators connected him to the stolen credit cards. Officers recovered the clothing purchased with the stolen cards, as well as Sheridan’s watch, according to court records.
Kenneth Heath was also charged with Sheridan’s murder, but he was sentenced to life in prison as part of a plea deal.
Ronald Heath’s lawyers are expected to appeal to the Florida Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court.
A total of 47 people were executed in the United States in 2025. Florida led the way with a wave of execution orders signed by DeSantis. The state’s last execution in 2025 was the Dec. 18 fatal injection of Frank Athen Walls, who was convicted of fatally shooting a man and his girlfriend during a home invasion robbery.
