Chadwick Scott Willacy was a Florida death row inmate convicted of the 1990 murder of his neighbor, Marlys Mae Sather. After more than three decades of appeals and post-conviction litigation, he was executed by lethal injection on April 21, 2026, at Florida State Prison.
The case began on September 5, 1990, in Palm Bay, Florida. According to court records, Sather returned home during her lunch break and encountered Willacy burglarizing her residence. Prosecutors said Willacy assaulted her, bound her hands and feet, attempted to strangle her, and then set her on fire. Medical evidence later showed that she died from smoke inhalation, indicating she was alive when the fire began.
Investigators connected Willacy to the crime through physical evidence and stolen property. He was convicted of first-degree murder, burglary, robbery, and arson. Although the Florida Supreme Court later ordered a new sentencing proceeding because of a jury-selection issue, a second jury again recommended a death sentence in 1995.
Over the following decades, Willacy pursued numerous appeals in state and federal courts. His attorneys raised a variety of legal challenges, including claims involving Florida’s execution procedures. Those efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, and courts declined to halt the execution.
In his final statement, Willacy apologized to family and friends, expressed hope that the victim’s family would find peace, and continued to maintain his innocence. He was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. on April 21, 2026.
The case remains one of the many long-running capital punishment cases that continue to generate debate about justice, sentencing, and the death penalty in the United States.
