DeSantis signs death warrant for man sentenced in 1994 for kidnapping and murder.
TALLAHASSEE — In a significant development concerning capital punishment in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Anthony Wainwright. Wainwright was convicted for the 1994 kidnapping, rape, and murder of Carmen Gayheart, a 23-year-old woman who was abducted from a Winn-Dixie supermarket parking lot in Lake City and ultimately killed in rural Hamilton County.
Scheduled for execution by lethal injection on June 10 at Florida State Prison, Wainwright’s case has drawn public attention due to the heinous nature of his crimes. Eight days prior to committing the murder, Wainwright had escaped from a prison in North Carolina. The sentencing order issued in 1995 by Circuit Judge E. Vernon Douglas characterized the crime as “extremely wicked, evil and vile,” highlighting that Gayheart was forced at gunpoint into her vehicle while loading groceries, with the distressing knowledge that she would not return to her two small children waiting at a day care center.
Over the course of more than an hour, Gayheart was driven to a remote location where she was ultimately strangled and shot twice in the back of the head with a .22-caliber rifle. Following the crime, Wainwright and his accomplice, Richard Hamilton, were apprehended the next day after a shootout with law enforcement in Mississippi.
As the sixth inmate slated for execution in Florida in 2023, Wainwright is preceded by four executed inmates. Additionally, another inmate, Glen Rogers, is scheduled for execution on Thursday for a separate murder committed in 1995. The issuance of Wainwright’s death warrant came shortly after the Florida Supreme Court denied an appeal from Rogers seeking to halt his execution.
Legal efforts to contest Wainwright’s death sentence have been largely unsuccessful. However, the Florida Supreme Court has set a timeline for what may be his final appeal, potentially giving his legal team one last opportunity to challenge the execution.
Documents submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court by the Florida Attorney General’s Office provide context to Wainwright’s crimes, detailing his escape from North Carolina as well as subsequent actions that included stealing a vehicle and burglarizing a home for firearms. On April 27, 1994, after determining their stolen Cadillac was overheating, Wainwright and Hamilton targeted Gayheart in the parking lot, leading to the tragic turn of events that would ultimately result in a grim legal resolution nearly three decades later.
According to recent reports, the impending execution carries significant implications not only for the victim’s family but also for discussions surrounding the death penalty in Florida, as the state navigates complex legal and ethical considerations in capital punishment cases.
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