TALLAHASSEE - A 53-year-old death row inmate convicted of
murdering an 8-year-old girl died of cancer early Sunday.
Frank Lee Smith, sentenced to death for the April 1985 murder of
an 8-year-old girl in Broward County, died Sunday morning at North
Florida Reception hospital in Lake Butler.
Smith had a lengthy criminal record and had been on death row
since May 1986. Gov. Bob Martinez signed a death warrant for him in
October 1989.
Smith is the sixth death row inmate to die of natural causes
since last year.
In addition, inmate Manuel Colina committed suicide at Union
Correction Institution in April and the death of Frank Valdes at
Florida State Prison in July is being investigated as a homicide.
Two of the six death row inmates who died of natural causes lived
on death row for more than 21 years. A third lived on death row for
almost 19 years.
