Connect with us

Florida

Wade Wilson officially moved to Florida’s death row

Published

on

Wade Wilson officially moved to Florida’s death row


Wade Wilson is officially on death row.

The 30-year-old Florida man who was sentenced to death last week for murdering two women was transferred from the Lee County Jail in Fort Myers to the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford on Friday where he now awaits execution.

The photo attached to his Inmate Population Information profile appears old as Wilson appears fresh-faced and without his infamous tattoos.

Wade Wilson’s photo posted on the Florida Department of Corrections website (left) and Wilson in court to be sentenced to death (right).

Florida Department of Corrections/YouTube/Law & Crime

Newsweek has contacted Wilson’s lawyers and the Florida Department of Corrections for comment.

Advertisement

On August 27, the families of Wilson’s victims Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz clapped, laughed, and hugged each other when Judge Nick Thompson decided that Wilson would be put to death for strangling both women within hours of eachother in October 2019.

Wilson is the first convicted killer in Florida to be put to death after Gov. Ron DeSantis’ controversial law change. DeSantis signed a law in April 2023 reducing the requirement for jurors to recommend a death sentence from a unanimous decision to an 8-4 vote in favor. Experts argue that this change has turned capital resentencing and trials into a “quintessential game of chance” for those facing the death penalty.

In June, nine of the 12 jurors in Wilson’s case recommended the death penalty for the murder of Melton and 10 recommended death for the murder of Ruiz.

Wade Wilson will be transferred to Florida’s Union Correctional Institution as he awaits death.

YouTube/Law & Crime/Union Correctional Institution

Life on Death Row

The 274 Florida male death row inmates are housed at Union Correctional Institution in Raiford which has a capacity of 1,486 inmates. Raiford is a Union County town located in the northern part of the county and southwest of Jacksonville.

The two female Florida death row inmates are housed at Lowell Annex in Lowell.

Advertisement

Death row cells measure 6-by-9 feet with a height of 9.5 feet. Inmates awaiting execution, after the governor signs a death warrant, are housed in death watch cells, which measure 12-by-7 feet with a height of 8.5 feet.

Death row inmates are served three meals a day: at 5 a.m., from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., and from 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Meals are prepared by prison staff and delivered to the cells in insulated carts. Inmates use sporks to eat from a provided tray.

Before execution, inmates can request a last meal with a maximum budget of $40, and the food must be purchased locally to prevent extravagance.

Death row inmates can have visitors but they must be approved in advance. Inmates receive mail daily, excluding holidays and weekends. They are allowed snacks, radios, and 13-inch televisions in their cells but do not have cable television or air-conditioning. Inmates cannot gather in common areas but can watch church services on closed-circuit TV.

While on death watch, inmates may have radios and televisions positioned outside their cell bars. They’re allowed to shower every other day and are counted at least once an hour.

Advertisement

Death row inmates are handcuffed whenever they are outside their cells, except during their time in the cell, exercise yard, or shower. Inmates remain in their cells except for medical appointments, exercise, social or legal visits, and media interviews. When a death warrant is signed, the inmate is placed on death watch status and is allowed a legal and social phone call.

Death row inmates wear distinctive orange T-shirts, while their pants are the same blue pants worn by regular inmates.

Do you have a story Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com



Source link

Advertisement

Florida

Florida man taken into custody related to call threatening business

Published

on

Florida man taken into custody related to call threatening business


The Vero Beach Police Department took a man into custody May 8 in connection with a threatening phone call directed toward a business.

The agency received information at 5:21 p.m. May 7 about a threatening call to Thrive IRC Inc. at 2300 5th Ave. in Vero Beach, according to a news release. The call included someone threatening to come to the business with an AK rifle and “light the building up.”

Detectives began investigating the threat and identified Michael Sean O’Brien, 27, of Vero Beach, as the person associated with the phone number used during the call.

Advertisement

O’Brien was taken into custody at about 3:30 p.m. May 8 without incident. He was charged with the false report concerning the use of firearms in a violent manner, which is a second degree felony, according to the news release.

O’Brien was booked in the Indian River County Jail at 6:13 p.m. May 8 but was released at 1:36 p.m. May 9 after posting the $5,000 bond, according to the jail website.

No additional information was available the afternoon of May 9.

Olivia Franklin is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com, 317-627-8048 or follow her on X @Livvvvv_5.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Florida

Florida woman on 2026 “100 Women to know in America” list

Published

on

Florida woman on 2026 “100 Women to know in America” list



Charmaine Hickey, of Lang Realty in Port St. Lucie, was named in KNOW Women’s “100 Women to KNOW in America” list.

A Treasure Coast woman was named in a “100 Women to know in America” list for 2026.

Advertisement

KNOW Women is a global media company dedicated to giving women leaders connections and visibility. The company released a list of “100 Women to know in America” for 2026 to highlight the most influential women in business and leadership.

Charmaine Hickey, who works for Lang Realty in Port St. Lucie, was on the list.

“Charmaine’s recognition on a national stage like this comes as no surprise,” said Scott Agran, president of Lang Realty in a news release. “Her leadership, integrity, and commitment to both her profession and her community exemplify what this award stands for. She represents the very best of our industry.”

Hickey holds many industry designations and is known for her expertise in complex real estate transactions, as well as her client-first approach defined by honesty, patience and attention to detail, according to the news release.

Advertisement

Her community involvement includes serving on nonprofit boards, mentoring emerging leaders and supporting initiatives focused on education, women, families and youth.

“I am truly honored to be recognized among such an inspiring group of women,” said Hickey in the news release. “This award reflects not just individual achievement, but the power of community, mentorship, and lifting others as we grow. I’m grateful to be part of a network of women who are building meaningful impact every day.”

To see the full list go to theknowwomen.com.

Olivia Franklin is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com, 317-627-8048 or follow her on X @Livvvvv_5.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Florida

Florida surgeon ‘devastated’ over death of patient after removing liver instead of spleen

Published

on

Florida surgeon ‘devastated’ over death of patient after removing liver instead of spleen


A Florida surgeon who is facing criminal charges after allegedly removing a patient’s liver instead of his spleen has said he is “forever traumatized” by that person’s death.

In a deposition from November that was recently obtained by NBC, 44-year-old Thomas Shaknovsky described the death of 70-year-old William Bryan as an “incredibly unfortunate event that I regret deeply”.

Bryan died after the botched surgery; and in April, a grand jury in Tallahassee indicted Shaknovsky on a charge of manslaughter.

“I’m forever traumatized by it and hurt by it,” Shaknovsky added, also saying that wrong-site surgeries can happen “during difficult circumstances”.

Advertisement

The deposition provided Shaknovksy’s first detailed account of the operation that killed Bryan and eventually garnered national news headlines.

According to Shaknovksy’s deposition, after removing Bryan’s liver, the surgeon instructed a nurse to label the organ as a “spleen” – and he also identified it as a spleen in Bryan’s postoperative notes. Shaknovsky later said he had been “mentally compromised” at the time of Bryan’s death, explaining that he was “devastated, demoralized, crying over his passing, felt that I failed him”.

A lawsuit filed by Bryan’s widow, Beverly Bryan, accuses Shaknovsky of medical malpractice. The suit alleges that he “wrongfully omitted any reference to Mr Bryan’s liver being removed in order to ‘cover up’ his gross negligence/recklessness and to hopefully avoid the embarrassment due to such derelict care”, as NBC reported.

In April, the Walton county sheriff’s office said in a statement that Shaknovsky’s actions inflicted on Bryan “catastrophic blood loss and the patient’s death on the operating table”.

Shaknovsky’s deposition testimony described the chaos in the operating room after Bryan began bleeding extensively, causing his heart to stop. Medical staff performed chest compressions, and Shaknovsky attempted to find where the bleeding was coming from.

Advertisement

“I couldn’t tell the difference because I was so upset,” he said, referring to the organ he mistakenly identified.

“It was like a overflown sink that’s clogged up, and I am looking for a fork at the bottom, trying to feel and find the bleed, and I was not able to do so,” Shaknovsky said. He added: “After 20 minutes of struggling – desperately trying – to save his life, that’s when the wrong-site event took place.

“It’s a devastating thing, which I will have to live with the rest of my life,” Shaknovsky said in the eight-hour deposition reviewed by NBC. “I think about it every single day.”

After the medical team was unable to resuscitate Bryan, Shaknovsky said he went to the hospital’s medical library. “I went there to cry because I was devastated,” he said. “I didn’t want the staff to see me like that.”

Despite a spleen typically being significantly smaller than a liver, Shaknovsky said he believed Bryan’s spleen was “double the size of what is normal” because of a mass on it. Beverly Bryan’s lawsuit, however, states that a medical examiner told her that her husband’s spleen was anatomically “nearly normal”, according to NBC.

Advertisement

Shaknovsky would face up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 if eventually convicted as charged.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending