Overview
- Trotter, 65, was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. after a three‑drug lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke for the murder of Virgie Langford.
- The U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final bid to halt the execution, and state courts had earlier denied appeals challenging Florida’s protocol and citing his age.
- Sotomayor agreed with the denial but warned that restricted access to records obscures potential problems such as expired drugs, incorrect dosing, and lapses in documentation.
- Officials said Trotter declined a last statement and showed heavy breathing and twitching shortly after the drugs were administered before movements slowed.
- Florida executed a record 19 people in 2025, Trotter is the state’s second execution of 2026, and two more are scheduled for March 3 and March 17.