A Florida man who shot his estranged wife dead at a family cookout was executed Tuesday evening — the 13th prisoner put to death in the state this year, accounting for more than half of all executions nationwide in 2026. While progressive-run cities let repeat violent offenders walk, Florida is proving that elections have consequences: voters who elect tough-on-crime leaders get a justice system that actually delivers justice.

William Frances Silvia, 61, was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m. after receiving a three-drug lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was convicted of first-degree murder for killing Patricia Silvia and attempted first-degree murder for shooting her mother, Betty Woodard, in a 2006 attack.

Court records show Silvia purchased a shotgun, drove to his mother-in-law's Orlando-area home — where his wife had been living since their separation two months earlier — and opened fire after a failed attempt to reconcile. The family was in the middle of a cookout. Silvia retrieved the shotgun from his truck and shot both women.

Strapped to a gurney with an IV in his arm, Silvia offered final words: "I'm sorry all this happened. It was an accident. I never meant to hurt her." A warden shook him and shouted his name minutes after the drugs began flowing. No response. A medic declared him dead shortly after. A priest sat at his feet and prayed throughout.

Patricia's sister, Pamela Wyatt, confronted the loss after the execution. "Nothing that happens today can give us those stolen years," she said. "No execution can return Patricia to her children and give her the grandchildren she dreamed of knowing. But today can be an opportunity to remember that Patricia's life was bigger than the terrible act that ended it."

The execution underscores a sharp national divide. Florida has carried out 13 of the country's 23 executions so far this year, with two more scheduled for September. Last year, the Sunshine State led the nation with 19 of 47 total U.S. executions, according to the New York Post. Governor Ron DeSantis, now in his final term, has signed more death warrants than any governor in Florida history — a deliberate contrast to jurisdictions where prosecutors decline to pursue maximum penalties and violent offenders cycle back onto the street.

DeSantis has said he wants to give closure to families who have sometimes waited over 40 years to see their loved ones' killers punished. In 2023, he signed legislation adding the death penalty as a possible sentence for convicted child sex abusers. On July 28, the state carried out its first double execution since 1964.

Arkansas Online framed the execution as part of the state's "aggressive use of the death penalty" — the standard media language for any jurisdiction that actually enforces its laws. The Post, to its credit, noted DeSantis' rationale about closure for waiting families.

The facts speak for themselves. Florida holds killers accountable. Other jurisdictions, led by progressive prosecutors who ran on leniency, do not. The difference isn't systemic — it's political. Voters chose this, and other voters chose differently. The body count from those different choices is piling up in cities across the country.

The open question: how many more Patricias have to die before voters everywhere start choosing differently?