By Michele Taylor - Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops (FCCB) has asked Gov. Ron DeSantis to stay the March 17, 2026, execution of Michael L. King and commute his sentence to life imprisonment without parole. King was sentenced to death for the 2008 first-degree murder of Denise Amber Lee, a wife and mother of two young children.
While acknowledging that the grave nature of King’s crimes warrants severe punishment, Michael Sheedy, FCCB executive director, pleaded with the governor to spare King’s life.
“We appeal to you that it is possible both to achieve the purposes of punishment and to exercise mercy,” wrote Sheedy in a letter to DeSantis.
The Catholic Church teaches that the death penalty attacks the inviolability of the human person. The alternative of lifelong incarceration without the possibility of parole is a severe yet more humane punishment that upholds the inherent dignity of the offender while also protecting society.
In the days leading up to the execution, Catholic faithful and community members will gather at various locations across Florida to pray for King, Lee, and their families, as well as for DeSantis as he considers the request to spare King’s life.
Full text of letter to DeSantis
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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.
