Florida to Execute Michael Lee King for 2008 Abduction, Rape and Murder of Denise Amber Lee
Florida is scheduled to execute 54-year-old Michael Lee King by lethal injection at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Florida State Prison near Starke for the 2008 abduction, rape and murder of 21-year-old mother Denise Amber Lee in North Port. King was sentenced to death in 2009 after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder, sexual battery and kidnapping; evidence at trial included Lee’s desperate 911 call from King’s cellphone while bound in his car and physical evidence recovered from his home and vehicle. The Florida Supreme Court last week rejected his latest appeals, which alleged mismanagement of the state’s death penalty protocols and due-process violations over access to records, and the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to intervene. Lee’s killing spurred the unanimously passed Denise Amber Lee Act, which tightened training standards for 911 operators and led to the creation of a national foundation that still advocates for emergency-communications reforms. King’s execution would be Florida’s fourth scheduled in 2026 following a record 19 executions in 2025 under Gov. Ron DeSantis, and comes as Florida leads the nation in death sentences carried out while two more executions are already set for March 31 and April 21, keeping capital punishment practices in the state under renewed scrutiny.
📌 Key Facts
- In January 2008, Michael Lee King abducted 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee from outside her North Port home, leaving her toddler and infant sons alone inside.
- While bound in King’s car, Lee managed to call 911 on his cellphone and begged for her life; she was later shot in the face and buried in a remote area of North Port.
- King’s latest appeals arguing mismanaged execution protocols and lack of access to records were denied by the Florida Supreme Court last week, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal on Monday.
- Florida scheduled King’s execution for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Florida State Prison, using a three-drug lethal injection protocol (sedative, paralytic, and heart-stopping drug).
- Florida carried out a record 19 executions in 2025, leading all U.S. states; 47 executions occurred nationwide that year, with Alabama, South Carolina and Texas tied for second with five each.
📊 Relevant Data
Black individuals constitute 35% of Florida's death row population, while comprising only 17% of the state's overall population.
Florida leads the nation in executions this year — The Washington Post
In Florida, from 1976 to 2014, 72% of executions were for crimes involving White victims, despite White people comprising 56% of homicide victims during that period.
Study Finds Disparities in Race, Gender, and Geography in Florida Executions — Death Penalty Information Center
Florida has had 30 exonerations from death row, more than any other state.
Florida — Death Penalty Information Center
Nationally, Black people account for 56% of death-sentenced murder exonerations, despite comprising 13.6% of the U.S. population.
Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States, 2022 — National Registry of Exonerations
In 2023, the homicide victimization rate for Black persons in the US was 21.3 per 100,000, compared to 3.2 per 100,000 for White persons, with Black persons comprising 55.8% of victims despite being 13.6% of the population.
Homicide Victimization in the United States, 2023 — Bureau of Justice Statistics
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