A prison inmate in Florida, scheduled for execution within a week, has filed a lawsuit against state officials, alleging that the Department of Corrections has been using expired drugs in lethal injections. He also claims officials used reduced doses during the previous four executions.
The inmate, Frank Athen Walls, is set to be executed on December 18. With only days left before he is given a lethal injection, he filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s execution procedures.
According to the lawsuit, Walls argues that officials were willfully negligent in carrying out the lethal injection protocol. In the past four executions, the drugs used were allegedly expired or administered in amounts below the required levels. Florida’s execution process uses a sedative, a paralytic, and a heart-stopping drug.
Supplies of the three-drug combination have been dwindling in correctional facilities for years. Manufacturers, including Pfizer, have stopped providing the drugs, leading to shortages across the country. As a result, several states have turned to alternative methods such as nitrogen hypoxia. While these methods are newer, they have increasingly been adopted by state authorities.
Florida Governor Ron Desantis has set a December 18, 2025 execution date for Frank Athen Walls.
If carried out, it would be the 19th in the state, surpassing Oklahoma’s 18th execution in 2001 and 47th nationwide of 2025. The highest since 2009. pic.twitter.com/wIb3FRe8vs
— Friday-Justice-Obsessions (@death_row0506) November 19, 2025
The lawsuit filed by Frank Athen Walls also reveals discrepancies in the handwritten logs kept by the Department of Corrections. These logs track the amount of each drug in stock before an execution takes place. Florida currently uses a combination of drugs such as etomidate, rocuronium bromide, and potassium acetate for lethal injections.
Etomidate has been in short supply in Florida’s correctional system due to increased demand and manufacturing delays, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. The complaint filed by the death row inmate also alleges that the prison maintains a stock of expired etomidate, which was used in the executions of Kayle Bates, Curtis Windom, David Pittman, and Victor Jones.
The lawsuit further argues that discrepancies in the drug combination used during executions pose a significant risk of the procedure malfunctioning. It describes this as a breach of protocol that could render executions unconstitutional. The defense attorney for Walls added, “Mr. Walls is at heightened risk of a disastrous execution in light of (the prison system’s) documented negligence in adhering to their own protocol.”
In response, Florida’s Assistant Attorney General offered a sharply different view in the state’s filing. Jason Rodriguez characterized the claims as a last-minute attempt by Walls to delay his execution. He said, “He has been in poor health for years, but waited until the eve of his execution to file suit long after the time to do so had passed.”
Meanwhile, a U.S. district judge dismissed a request to delay or stay Walls’ execution based on arguments that he had an intellectual disability. His attorneys continue to pursue appeals with only days remaining. Walls was sentenced to death for the 1987 murders of Edward Alger and Ann Peterson during a home invasion. His death warrant was signed in November, marking Florida’s 19th execution of the year.
