Florida's execution of a former Air Force sergeant in the machete murders of his family is the state's ninth this year, a record in the state's modern history.
The state executed former Sgt. Edward Zakrzewski II by lethal injection on Thursday, July 31, for a crime that shocked north Florida more than 30 years ago on June 9, 1994. When his wife wanted a divorce, he used a machete to kill her, their 5-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son. Their bodies were found in a bathtub in their home in the coastal city of Mary Esther.
Zakrzewski was pronounce dead at 6:12 p.m. ET.
Florida has executed more inmates this year that any other state at nine executions, which is more than any other year in the state's modern history. The state previously executed eight people in 1984 and 2014.
Florida is on track to outpace Texas in executions for the first time since 1984 as Gov. Ron DeSantis makes the issue a priority, saying in May that he wants to bring closure to families who've been waiting sometimes decades for their loved one's killer to be executed.
