The number of people on Florida’s death row is dropping quickly as Gov. Ron DeSantis keeps up the rapid pace of executions he started in 2025. There are currently 250 people on the roster, including Billy Kearse, who is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday, March 2.
Only one of them is a biological woman. Another is a trans woman, but Florida includes that individual in the list of men. In 2024, a federal district court judge allowed the state to enforce a new policy of withholding gender-affirming medical care to those diagnosed with gender dysphoria and requiring transgender women to undergo psychiatric evaluation and treatment instead to “ameliorate the symptoms.”
There are presently 47 women on death row in the United States, according to deathpenaltyinfo.org, including transgender women. California has the most, with 18.
Here’s what to know.
Tina Brown only biological woman on Florida’s death row
Tina Lasonya Brown, 55, was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder and sentenced to death after she and two other people ambushed 19-year-old Audreanna Zimmerman, attacked her repeatedly with a stun gun, gagged her, stuffed her in the trunk of a car, drove her into the woods, beat her with a crowbar, doused her with gasoline, set her on fire and left her to die.
Brown lived in the same mobile home park in Pensacola as Zimmerman, according to court records. They were initially friends, but tensions rose among Zimmerman, Brown and Brown’s 16-year-old daughter, Britnee Angelique Miller.
“Brown had previously accused Zimmerman of slashing her tires. Zimmerman had accused Brown of shattering a window in her car, having her boyfriend arrested, and reporting to the Florida Department of Children and Families that she was providing inadequate care to her children,” a Florida Supreme Court opinion stated.
In 2010, Miller tried to hit Zimmerman after discovering the other woman was sexually involved with her boyfriend. Zimmerman used a stun gun on her in defense, court records show. A few days later, on March 24, Brown invited Zimmerman to come over to make things up.
Instead, she and Miller and their neighbor Heather Lee repeatedly used a stun gun on Zimmerman and stuffed a sock in her mouth to stifle her screams. The women and teen took Zimmerman to a wooded area, continued beating and stunning her, and then doused her in gasoline and set her on fire while she was still conscious, court records show.
Zimmerman survived long enough to get to help and tell paramedics who attacked her. She died a little over two weeks later with severe head trauma, what appeared to be a broken or dislocated jaw, and over 90% of her body burned.
Brown, Miller and Lee were all arrested and charged with Zimmerman’s murder. Brown was the only one sentenced to death. Miller, who was 16 at the time, was sentenced to life in prison for her role in the murder. Lee was sentenced to 25 years in prison after making a plea agreement with the state and has a scheduled release date of Aug. 23, 2031.
Who is Jenna Rodgers?
One of the people the state lists as a man is Jenna Rodgers, a trans woman who transitioned after she was sentenced to death for killing Julie Robinson in Santa Rosa County in 1998, cutting off and saving the victim’s calf muscle. In 2018, Rodgers filed appeals claiming the mental health effects of undiagnosed gender dysphoria led to a series of major decisions in her trial.
“Jeremiah Rodgers did not want to live. Jenna Rodgers does,” Rodgers’ attorneys argued.
The Florida Supreme Court denied the appeal, as did the U.S. Supreme Court.
How many women has Florida executed?
Florida has sentenced 17 women to death, according to state records and court records, but only two were ever executed:
How many women have been sentenced to death row in Florida?
Seventeen women have received the death penalty in Florida, according to state records, media reports and court records.
Of those, two have been executed, 12 were resentenced or commuted, one died in prison, one was released from a mental institution to her family, and one remains on death row.
The history of women on Florida’s death row
C. A. Bridges is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: How many women are on Florida’s death row?
Reporting by C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
