Man convicted of 1991 fatal shooting of police officer is set to be executed in Florida
STARKE, Florida — A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop is expected to be executed Tuesday evening in Florida.
Billy Leon Kearse, 53, is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Kearse was originally sentenced to death in 1991 after being convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm.
The Florida Supreme Court found that the trial court failed to provide jurors with certain information about aggravating circumstances and ordered a resentencing. Kearse was sentenced to death in 1997.
This is the third execution planned in Florida in 2026, following a record 19 executions last year. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has overseen more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since reinstating the death penalty in 1976. The previous highest number was eight executions in 1984 and 2014, under former governors Bob Graham and Rick Scott, respectively.
According to court records, Fort Pierce police Officer Danny Parrish stopped Kearse for driving the wrong way on a one-way street in January 1991. When Kearse failed to produce a valid driver’s license, Parrish ordered Kearse out of his vehicle and attempted to handcuff him.
A fight ensued and Kearse grabbed Parrish’s gun, prosecutors said. Kearse fired 14 times, hitting the officer nine times in the body and four times in his body armor. A nearby taxi driver heard the gunshots and used Parrish’s radio to call for help.
Parrish was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died from his gunshot wounds, officials said. Meanwhile, police used the license plate information Parrish had called before approaching Kearse to identify the attacker’s vehicle and home address, where Kearse was arrested.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court rejected appeals filed by Kearse. His lawyers had argued that he was unconstitutionally deprived of a fair penalty phase and that his intellectual disability made his execution unconstitutional.
The final appeals were pending Tuesday before the U.S. 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, far outpacing Alabama, South Carolina and Texas, which each carried out five executions.
In addition to the two executions in Florida this year, Texas and Oklahoma have each executed one person so far.
Two more executions in Florida are already planned this month. Michael Lee King, 54, is scheduled to die on March 17 and the execution of James Aren Duckett, 68, is scheduled for March 31.
All executions in Florida are carried out by lethal injection using a sedative, paralytic and heart-stopping drug, according to the Department of Corrections.
