STARKE, Fla. - A Florida man convicted of killing two women whose bodies were found in a rural pond is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday evening.

Samuel Lee Smithers, 72, is set to receive a lethal injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke under a death warrant signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis .

Smithers was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1999.

Smithers is one of two executions scheduled for Tuesday evening in the U.S. Lance Shockley, 48, is set to be executed in Missouri for fatally shooting a state trooper more than 20 years ago.

The backstory:

According to court records, Smithers met Christy Cowan and Denise Roach on different dates in May 1996 at a Tampa motel to pay them for sex. At the time, he wa

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