Anthony Wainwright is scheduled for execution on Tuesday for the 1994 murder of Carmen Gayheart. Florida Catholic Bishops are advocating for clemency. Watch the video to hear Carmen’s sister reflect on the family’s decades-long fight for justice.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Tuesday, the state of Florida is scheduled to carry out the execution of Anthony Wainwrightnearly 31 years after he abducted and murdered a young Lake City mother.
Im Lentheus Chaney, your neighborhood reporter in Lake City, speaking with the victims sisterwho shares how the family is honoring her memory and coping with the moment theyve waited decades for, as calls for clemency continue.
Carmen Gayhearta 23-year-old nursing student and mother of twowas abducted from a grocery store parking lot in Lake City by two prison escapees.
She was later found murdered in Hamilton County. The men responsibleAnthony Wainwright and Richard Hamiltonwere sentenced to death in 1995.
Hamilton died in prison in 2023.
Wainwright is now scheduled to be executed Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Carmens sister, Maria David, says the grief has never gone awaybut with Wainwrights final appeal denied, the focus now shifts from waiting for justice to finding peace for both families.
“Death is final, right? But Anthony made some choices, and those choices have consequences. So, its unfortunate for all of us. None of us asked for any of this. None of us. His family, my familywe didnt ask for this,” David said.
Meanwhile, the Florida Catholic bishops have once again urged Gov. DeSantis to grant clemency, calling for Wainwrights sentence to be commuted to life without parole.
Joseph Harmon, policy coordinator for the Florida Catholic Conference of Bishops, says the Church consistently advocates for mercy in every death penalty case.
“We pray for the victim, the repose of her soul, for the victims relatives. Pray also for everyone on death rowthat they come to know the mercy of God, acknowledge their crimes, and we pray for the governor and the officers of the state as they weigh these difficult decisions to carry out their duty,” Harmon said.
According to the Florida Department of Corrections, as of Monday, Floridas death row population includes 271 inmates258 men and 13 women.
David says she and Carmen are both Catholic, and while she respects people of all faiths, she hopes the public remembers the young woman at the heart of this caseher sister, Carmen.
In Lake City, Lentheus Chaney, ABC27.
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