Florida Governor Signs 2 Death Warrants

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush signed his first death warrants Wednesday for two convicted murderers who will face execution next month in a new electric chair that replaced the state’s famous “Old Sparky.”

Thomas Provenzano, 50, is scheduled to die July 7 for the 1984 murder of a bailiff during a bloody rampage at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando. The execution of Allen Lee Davis, 54, for the 1982 murders of a mother and her two daughters is set for July 8.

For Bush, the death warrants mark the first time he has ordered a prisoner to his death since becoming governor in January.

“He tried to stay focused. If you look at these two crimes, they were pretty horrific,” Bush’s press secretary Cory Tilley said. “He was focusing on what the families have gone through.”