Florida Inmate Faces Execution Thursday as Supreme Court Weighs DNA Plea

Lawyers for a Florida death row inmate filed an emergency appeal with the US Supreme Court on Monday, seeking to halt his execution scheduled for Thursday. The inmate, Daniel Conahan Jr., 72, was convicted for the April 1996 kidnapping and strangulation of Richard Montgomery in Charlotte County, Florida.

Montgomery's body was discovered nude and emasculated in a wooded area that authorities described as a dumping ground filled with trash. Prosecutors said Conahan killed Montgomery after paying him to pose for nude photographs. Investigators have also linked Conahan to other similar homicides in southwest Florida during the 1990s, though he has consistently denied involvement in Montgomery's murder.

The appeal centers on a request for DNA testing of evidence collected at the crime scene and from Montgomery's body. According to the filing, Conahan has sought this testing since March 2025, arguing it could "conclusively establish that he is not responsible for the death."

Governor Ron DeSantis signed Conahan's death warrant on August 11, while the DNA motion was still pending. Within 24 hours, a state postconviction court denied the request. The Supreme Court petition argues that Conahan is not asking for a declaration of innocence or release from prison, but merely for a stay of execution so the court can review what his attorneys call "meritorious claims."

Florida has carried out 14 executions so far this year.