Attorneys representing Daniel Conahan Jr., a 72-year-old Florida inmate scheduled for execution, filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court requesting a stay of his lethal injection sentence. Conahan was convicted in connection with the April 1996 killing of Richard Montgomery, whose body was discovered in a wooded area in Charlotte County that authorities described as an apparent dumping ground.
According to law enforcement, Montgomery’s body showed signs of strangulation and mutilation. Authorities alleged that Conahan paid Montgomery to pose for nude photographs before killing him. The prosecution has also suggested Conahan may have been responsible for similar homicides in southwest Florida during the 1990s.
Conahan has consistently maintained his innocence in Montgomery’s death. His legal team noted that he has been requesting DNA testing since March 2025 of biological evidence collected from the crime scene and the victim’s body. The attorneys argue that such testing could definitively establish his lack of involvement in the homicide.
The timing of the case has raised procedural concerns. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant on Aug. 11 while Conahan’s motion for DNA testing was still under consideration. Within 24 hours of the warrant being signed, the state postconviction court rejected the DNA testing motion. In their Supreme Court filing, attorneys emphasized that Conahan is not requesting a declaration of innocence or release from prison, but rather asking for a stay of execution to allow the court to review his claims.
Florida has carried out 14 executions during the current year.
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