Florida Executes Man Convicted In 1986 Grocery Store Murder
Melvin Trotter, 65, was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay while Justice Sotomayor questioned Florida’s lethal-injection transparency.
The GuardianMan convicted of killing 70-year-old grocery store owner executed in Florida
USA TODAYFlorida inmate executed for grandmother's 'brutal and sadistic' murder
PBS NewsHourMan put to death for 1986 killing of grocery store owner in Florida's 2nd execution this year
ABC NewsMan convicted of killing a grocery store owner during set to be executed in Florida
Overview
Melvin Trotter, 65, was executed by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his final appeal, according to authorities.
Trotter was convicted of first-degree murder for the June 16, 1986, stabbing and strangling of 70-year-old Virgie Langford and was first sentenced to death in 1987 and again at resentencing in 1993, according to court records.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she was "deeply troubled" by Florida's lethal-injection record and questioned the state's secrecy after Trotter's attorneys alleged expired drugs and other protocol failures in filings.
Florida carried out a record 19 executions in 2025 and 47 people were executed in the U.S. that year, and Trotter's was the fourth U.S. execution this year and Florida's second, according to reports.
Two more Florida executions are scheduled for March 3 for Billy Leon Kearse and March 17 for Michael Lee King, according to the sources.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources present this report neutrally: they rely on court records and official statistics, attribute claims to sources, and include defense arguments as source content rather than editorializing. Language is factual (case details, evidence, appeals) with minimal evaluative wording; only the phrase 'flurry of death warrants' briefly intensifies tone but does not change overall neutrality.
FAQ
Melvin Trotter was convicted of first-degree murder for stabbing and strangling 70-year-old Virgie Langford at her grocery store in Palmetto on June 16, 1986. Langford identified her attacker as wearing a Tropicana badge with 'Melvin' before dying; police found a blood-stained T-shirt at his home and his handprint on a meat cooler.
Trotter, 65, was executed by three-drug lethal injection at Florida State Prison on February 24, 2026, at 6:15 p.m. He declined a last statement, breathed heavily and twitched after drugs were administered, and was pronounced dead after a medic check.
Justice Sotomayor was 'deeply troubled' by Florida's lethal-injection record and secrecy, amid allegations of expired drugs like etomidate used in prior executions and protocol failures raised by Trotter's attorneys.
Florida executed 19 people in 2025, a record, and has conducted two in 2026 so far, including Trotter. Two more are scheduled: Billy Leon Kearse on March 3 and Michael Lee King on March 17, under Gov. Ron DeSantis.[1]
