Execution Of Convicted FL Man Set After Cop's Death

RAIFORD, FL — The man accused of fatally shooting a Florida police officer with his own service weapon is set to be executed Tuesday at the state prison.

Prison records showed Billy Kearse, 53, was sentenced to death on a first-degree premeditated or attempted murder charge in November 1991 in St. Lucie County. The execution is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Florida State Prison in Raiford.

The state uses a three-drug cocktail for its lethal injection: a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

According to court records, Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish pulled over Kearse for driving the wrong way on a one-way street in January 1991. When Kearse couldn’t produce a valid driver’s license, Parrish ordered Kearse out of his vehicle and attempted to handcuff him, the

A struggle ensued, and Kearse grabbed Parrish’s firearm, prosecutors said. Kearse fired 14 times, striking the officer nine times in the body and four times in his body armor. A nearby taxi driver heard the shots and used Parrish’s radio to call for help.

Parrish was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died from the gunshot wounds, officials said. Meanwhile, police used license plate information that Parrish had called in before approaching Kearse to identify the attacker’s vehicle and home address, where Kearse was arrested.

He was 18-years-old at the time, according to the Action Network.

In addition the murder charge, Kearse was convicted of robbery with a gun or deadly weapon. In 1989, he was sentenced to five years each on two burglary-related charges, prison records showed.

Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied appeals filed by Kearse. His attorneys had argued that he was unconstitutionally deprived of a fair penalty phase and that his intellectual disability makes his execution unconstitutional.

A stay of execution filed on Kearse's behalf was denied on Feb. 12, court records showed.

The execution of Kearse comes four days after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant to put to death James Aren Duckett, a former Mascotte officer convicted of raping and killing an 11-year-old girl in 1987, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Duckett is reportedly scheduled to be executed on March 31.

The execution of Michael King, convicted of first-degree premeditated murder, is scheduled for March 17, according to Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

Melvin Trotter, 65, was executed on Feb. 24 after being convicted of robbing and killing a longtime grocery store owner in 1987 in Manatee County.

DeSantis has now signed five death warrants this year, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

The Associated Press contributed reporting and writing.

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