More than three decades after a string of murders shook a Florida community, the state carried out the execution of Curtis Windom.
The 59-year-old man was put to death by lethal injection at Florida State Prison for the 1992 killings of his girlfriend, her mother, and another man he accused of owing him money.
But as the case reached its grim conclusion, his own daughter—who lost her mother to his violence—pleaded for mercy, asking the state not to execute him.
The Crimes That Changed Lives in 1992
On November 7, 1992, in Winter Garden, near Orlando, Windom carried out a deadly spree that left three people dead and another man injured.
Prosecutors said the violence began over a $2,000 debt owed by Johnnie Lee.
After learning Lee had won $114 at a racetrack, Windom told a friend chillingly, “You’re gonna read about me,” before buying a revolver at Walmart.
He shot Lee twice in the back of his car, then turned on his girlfriend, Valerie Davis, killing her “without provocation” in front of a witness.
Windom later encountered Davis’s mother, Mary Lubin, who had rushed over to her daughter’s home. He shot her twice as she sat in her car at a stop sign.
During the same spree, he also shot and injured another man, earning a separate 22-year sentence for attempted murder.
His Final Hours on Death Row
Windom’s execution took place Thursday evening. According to officials, he ate a last meal of ribs, baked beans, collard greens, potato salad, pie, ice cream, and soda.
Witnesses said his final words were muffled beneath a sheet that obscured his face.
As the lethal injection began, he took several deep breaths, his legs twitching before he was pronounced dead at 6:17 p.m.
This marked Florida’s 11th execution of the year and the 30th nationwide.
A Daughter’s Plea for Forgiveness
Perhaps the most emotional voice in the case came from Windom’s daughter, Curtisia, who was also Valerie Davis’s child.
Despite losing her mother to his actions, she campaigned against her father’s execution.
In an interview, she reflected on her childhood, saying: “It hurt. It hurt a lot. Life was not easy growing up.
But if we could forgive him, I don’t see why people on the street who haven’t been through our pain have a right to say he should die.”
Through an anti-death penalty group, Curtisia delivered over 5,000 signatures to the governor, urging for clemency.
“Forgiveness comes with time,” she said. “And 33 years is a long time. I, myself, have forgiven my father.”
Families Divided on Justice
While his daughter fought to save him, other relatives of the victims felt his execution was long overdue.
Valerie Davis’s sister, Kemene Hunter, said she believed the death penalty was the only way to finally bring closure.
After the execution, Hunter appeared at a press conference wearing a shirt that read “Justice for her, healing for me.”
She told reporters: “It took 33 years to get some closure. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.”
The Legal Battle and Final Appeal
Windom’s attorneys had argued that his mental health issues should have been taken into account during his trial.
They filed multiple appeals to stop his execution, but each was denied.
His last hope ended when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal just one day before the scheduled execution.
Florida’s Record on the Death Penalty
Under Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida has signed off on more executions than any other state in recent years.
Windom’s death was part of a series of executions carried out this year.
The next scheduled is David Joseph Pittman, 63, who is set to be executed on September 17.
