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#Post#: 607--------------------------------------------------
~ Michael Zack, III, 03Oct23, (FL) ~
By: BuzzC Date: August 18, 2023, 8:46 am
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Execution set for Florida man convicted of killing two women he
met at beach bars in 1996--
Friday, August 18th, 2023
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A man convicted of killing two women he met
at beach bars in the Florida Panhandle in 1996 is set to be
executed under a death warrant signed Thursday by Republican
Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Michael Duane Zack III's lethal injection is scheduled for Oct.
3 at 6 p.m. It's the sixth execution scheduled in Florida this
year after a break dating back to 2019.
The scheduled execution of Zack, 54, would be the eighth under
DeSantis. Though Florida has been executing death row inmates at
a far slower pace than under its previous governors, DeSantis
has made tougher, more far-reaching death penalty laws an issue
in his presidential campaign.
According to court records, Zack went on a crime spree across
the Florida Panhandle in June 1996. He had been living in
Tallahassee when he borrowed a bartender's car and never
returned it, authorities said. Zack made his way toward Panama
City, where the owner of a local construction business allowed
Zack to stay in his house. Investigators said Zack stole two
guns and some cash from the man and then went to Niceville,
where he pawned the guns.
Zack eventually ended up in Okaloosa Island. Officials said he
met Laurie Russillo, whom Zack strangled to death before leaving
her body on the beach. Zack then drove to Pensacola Beach, where
he met Ravonne Smith. Investigators said Zack sexually assaulted
Smith and then fatally stabbed her at her home. Zack stole some
electronics from Smith's home and tried to pawn them in Panama
City. He was arrested two days later after breaking into a
house.
Zack was convicted of first-degree murder for both deaths. He
received a life sentence for Russillo's murder and the death
penalty for Smith's slaying.
8)
#Post#: 610--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~ Michael Zack, III, 03Oct23, (FL) ~
By: BuzzC Date: October 3, 2023, 8:25 pm
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Florida executes Michael Zack III, convicted in 1996 murders--
Tuesday, October 3rd, 2023
STARKE, Fla. — A man who killed two women in the Florida
Panhandle during a crime spree in 1996 was executed by lethal
injection on Tuesday, prison officials said.
Michael Duane Zack III, 54, was executed at the Florida State
Prison in Starke, according to The Associated Press.
The drugs were administered at 6:02 p.m. EDT and he was
pronounced dead 12 minutes later, according to the newspaper.
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to halt the execution,
the News-Journal reported.
Zack was put to death for the June 13, 1996, murder of Ravonne
Smith, 31, an employee at a bar he befriended, USA Today
reported. Prosecutors said that Zack beat and raped Smith at her
Escambia County home and then fatally stabbed her with an oyster
knife, according to the AP.
In 1997, a jury convicted Zack of first-degree murder, robbery
with a firearm and sexual battery in Smith’s slaying. He was
sentenced to death on Nov. 24, 1997, USA Today reported.
Zack also killed another woman, Laura Rosillo, in neighboring
Okaloosa County, after meeting her at a different bar, the
News-Journal reported. He was sentenced to life in prison for
her death, according to USA Today.
Rosillo’s murder occurred on June 12, 1996. Prosecutors said
Zack invited to the woman to the beach “to do drugs,” the AP
reported. He then beat her, dragged her partially clothed into
the dunes, strangled her and kicked sand over her face,
according to court records.
Zack met Smith the next night.
Zack’s execution was the sixth in seven months this year,
according to the News-Journal.
8)
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