Michael Zack set to be executed Tuesday in 1996 killing of woman he met at Florida bar

Florida plans to execute a man by lethal injection Tuesday night for the fatal stabbing and rape of a woman he met in a bar during a crime spree involving another woman's death nearly 30 years ago.

Michael Zack III, 54, is set for execution at 6 p.m. ET inside Florida State Prison in Raiford, Florida Department of Corrections records show. Raiford is in Union County, roughly 45 miles southwest of Jacksonville.

Zack was sentenced to death for the June 13, 1996 murder of 31-year-old Ravonne Smith in her Escambia County home near the Gulf Coast, court records show. Zack is also serving a life sentence in the killing of another woman, Laura Rosillo, he met at a bar in Okaloosa County.

In 1997, a jury convicted Zack of first-degree murder, robbery with a firearm and sexual battery in Smith's slaying.

State records show he was sentenced to death on Nov. 24, 1997.

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected arguments Zack should be spared the death penalty because of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, the Pensacola News Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.

The unanimous ruling came after both state and federal courts turned down a series of appeals over nearly two decades.

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Ravonne Smith killing

Zack, who is from Tallahassee, met Smith, an employee of Dirty Joe’s bar, on June 13, 1996, court documents from one of Zack’s appeals to the Florida Supreme Court read. The pair ended up a Smith’s house, where Zack hit her in the head with a beer bottle, court papers state.

"Once he incapacitated Smith, Zack went to the kitchen where he got an oyster knife," court records read. "He returned to the guest bedroom where Smith lay and stabbed her in the chest four times with the knife."

On Aug. 17, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for Zack.

Laura Rosillo killing

Zack is also serving a life sentence for the slaying of Rosillo shortly before the Smith killing.

According to court records, Zack met Rosillo at another bar, and went to the beach where Zack attacked her.

“Once on the beach, Zack attacked Rosillo and beat her while they were still in the Honda,” court records show. “He then pulled Rosillo from the car... strangled her, dragged her body behind a sand dune, kicked dirt over her face, and departed.”

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Zack's execution would mark Florida's 6th and final this year

If the execution goes as planned, state records show, Zack will be the sixth person executed in the state this year and the eighth to die under DeSantis.

Zack was one of 292 people on death row in Florida Tuesday, state records show.

No other executions are scheduled in Florida through the end of 2023.

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Florida's last execution: James Barnes

Florida's last execution took place on Aug. 8, when the state executed James Phillip Barnes, 61, for the 1988 slaying of a woman in her Melbourne condominium.

His death came on the heels of the June 15 execution of Duane Owen, 62, for the 1984 fatal stabbing of a Palm Beach County woman.

Before that, the state executed Darryl Barwick, 56, on May 3 for the 1986 murder of a woman in her Panama City apartment; Louis Gaskin, 56, on April 12 in the 1989 murders of a couple in Flagler County; and Donald David Dilbeck, 59, on February 23 for the 1990 murder of a woman outside a Tallahassee mall.

Contributing: Mollye Barrows.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.