WADE WILSON REMAINS ON DEATH ROW AS LEGAL BATTLE CONTINUES — NO EXECUTION DATE SET
WADE WILSON REMAINS ON DEATH ROW AS LEGAL BATTLE CONTINUES — NO EXECUTION DATE SET
Wade Wilson remains on Florida’s death row more than six years after two women were killed in Lee County — and his legal battle is still not over.
Wilson was convicted in 2024 of the first-degree murders of Kristine Melton, 35, and Diane Ruiz, 43, who were killed on Oct. 7, 2019.
A Lee County jury found Wilson guilty of both killings, and in August 2024 a judge sentenced him to death for each murder. He is currently incarcerated at Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, Florida, which houses the state’s male death-row inmates.
HIS APPEAL FOCUSED ON THE DEATH SENTENCE
Wilson’s legal challenge has centered on the legality of his death sentences rather than his murder convictions.
Florida changed its death-penalty law in 2023, allowing a jury to recommend death without a unanimous vote, provided the required threshold is met.
In Wilson’s case, jurors voted 9-3 for death in Melton’s case and 10-2 for death in Ruiz’s case. His attorneys argued that applying the newer law to crimes committed in 2019 raised constitutional questions.
The case, Wade Steven Wilson v. State of Florida, SC2024-1345, reached the Florida Supreme Court.
The court held a hearing on Feb. 5, 2026. The official court record identifies seven issues raised in the direct appeal seeking reversal of the death sentences.
LAWYERS SHIFT THEIR FOCUS
At the February hearing, Wilson’s attorney indicated that he would preserve the constitutional arguments for a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, rather than rearguing issues that Florida courts had already addressed in previous cases.
The Florida Supreme Court subsequently upheld the lower court’s ruling.
Later reporting said Wilson’s attorneys abruptly ended their challenge to the death penalty at the Florida Supreme Court, citing recent legal rulings, while indicating that the broader legal fight could continue.
THE TWO CASES THAT LED TO HIS DEATH SENTENCES
According to trial evidence summarized by PEOPLE, Wilson encountered Melton at a Fort Myers bar before going to her home. Prosecutors said she was later killed there.
Hours afterward, investigators said Wilson encountered Ruiz while she was walking to work. She was persuaded to enter a vehicle and was later killed.
Wilson was arrested less than a day after the killings.
His biological father contacted authorities after Wilson made admissions during phone calls, helping investigators locate him, according to testimony described by PEOPLE.
WHERE WADE WILSON IS NOW
Wilson remains incarcerated at Union Correctional Institution on Florida’s death row.
Despite the two death sentences, there is no publicly announced execution date in the sources reviewed for this update. His legal options are not exhausted simply because the Florida Supreme Court litigation over the death sentences has reached this stage.
The case has also received renewed public attention through documentaries and true-crime coverage, including Paramount+’s Handsome Devil: Charming Killer and Netflix’s Worst Ex Ever.
For the families of Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz, however, the legal proceedings remain connected to the two women whose lives were lost in 2019.
And for Wilson, the next chapter of the case remains a matter for the courts.
His convictions remain in place, his two death sentences remain in effect, and his legal battle continues.
