A man sentenced to death for the murder of a grocery store owner during a robbery is scheduled for execution on Tuesday evening at Florida State Prison in Starke. Melvin Trotter, 65, is set to receive a three-drug injection commencing at 6 p.m., marking him as the second individual executed in Florida this year.
### Case Background
Trotter was originally convicted of first-degree murder in 1987 for the killing of Virgie Langford, who owned a grocery store in Palmetto. Following his conviction, the Florida Supreme Court identified errors made by the trial court regarding how aggravating factors were handled in the case. This resulted in a re-sentencing, and in 1993, Trotter was again sentenced to death.
Langford was attacked in 1986; she was subsequently found alive by a truck driver, who discovered her after the assault. While she was able to provide a description of her attacker, she succumbed to her injuries in the hospital. Court documents reveal that Trotter’s physical appearance matched Langford’s description, and evidence found at his residence, including a T-shirt stained with her blood and a handprint on a meat cooler, implicated him further.
### Recent Developments
Despite continued appeals from Trotter’s legal team, the Florida Supreme Court denied challenges last week concerning the execution. His attorneys contended that the Florida Department of Corrections mishandled its death penalty protocols and argued that Trotter, due to his age, should be spared from execution. On the morning of the planned execution, Trotter’s final appeals were still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The scheduled execution follows an uptick in capital punishment in Florida. Earlier this month, Ronald Palmer Heath, 64, became the first person executed in the state in 2025 for the murder of a traveling salesman, marking a significant year for executions in Florida. In total, 47 people were executed across the U.S. last year, with Florida contributing significantly, led by Governor Ron DeSantis, who oversaw the highest number of executions in a single year since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
### Execution Procedures in Florida
Florida employs a lethal injection method involving three drugs: a sedative, a paralytic agent, and a drug that causes cardiac arrest. The state is also preparing for two more executions in March. Billy Leon Kearse is slated for lethal injection on March 3, followed by Michael Lee King on March 17.
As Florida continues to move forward with its execution schedule, discussions around the ethics and methodologies surrounding capital punishment remain a contentious issue.
Source: Original Reporting
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