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October 8, 2025Every human life, given by God, is sacred
TALLAHASSEE, FL – The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops (FCCB) has asked Gov. Ron DeSantis to stay the execution of Samuel Smithers scheduled for October 14, 2025, and commute his sentences to life imprisonment without parole. Smithers was sentenced to death for the murders of Cristy Cowan and Denise Roach in 1996.
In a letter to DeSantis, Michael Sheedy, FCCB executive director, mourned the tragic deaths of Cowan and Roach and the suffering of their loved ones, yet urged the governor to spare Smithers’ life. "Mr. Smithers’ crimes were heinous, and it is right that the state should punish them severely,” wrote Sheedy. “Nevertheless, even as we pray for the repose of the souls of the victims and for the consolation of their survivors, we ask that you spare Mr. Smithers’ life.”
The death penalty attacks the inviolability of the human person. Life-long incarceration without the possibility of parole is a severe yet more humane punishment that ensures societal safety, allows the guilty the possibility of redemption, and offers finality to court processes without ending another human life.
Before Smithers’ scheduled execution, Catholic faithful and members of the community will gather in multiple locations across Florida to pray for him, for the families of his victims, and for DeSantis as he considers the request to stay the execution.
Full text of letter to DeSantis
# # #The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops is an agency of the Catholic Bishops of Florida. It speaks for the Church in matters of public policy and serves as liaison to the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. The archbishop and bishops of the seven (arch)dioceses in Florida constitute its board of directors.