Supreme Court·Emergency docket

Supreme Court denies stay; Florida executes William Reaves for 1986 killing of a deputy

Published 6:00 AM CT, Wednesday, October 21, 2026 · Updated 6:14 AM CT
In the 6 AM CT update

The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied William Reaves' application for a stay of execution, which was presented to Justice Clarence Thomas and referred to the full Court, and also denied his petition for review, according to the Court's order. Reaves, 77, was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. at Florida State Prison after a three-drug injection for the 1986 shooting of Indian River County Deputy Richard Raczkowski, AP reported via CBS News. It was Florida's 18th execution this year; his lawyers had argued jurors were never told the VA rated the Vietnam veteran 100% disabled by PTSD, CBS reported.

• Supreme Court
• William Reaves
• Death penalty
• Florida
• Richard Raczkowski
• Indian River County
• Execution
• Clarence Thomas
• Emergency docket
• Ron DeSantis