‘I think it’s beneath us, beneath a dignified society,’ Advocates to end death penalty weigh in on Melvin Trotter’s execution

Palmetto, Fla. (WWSB) - As the state prepares to execute Melvin Trotter, groups against the death penalty are speaking out.

Melvin Trotter, 65, is scheduled to be executed Tuesday evening for the 1986 murder of Virgie Langford.

RELATED COVERAGE: Florida man set to be executed for 1986 grocery store murder in Palmetto

According to court records, Trotter strangled and stabbed Langford. A truck driver found her alive after the attack, and she was able to describe her attacker before dying at the hospital.

Trotter was also picked out of a police lineup by witnesses who saw him leave the store.

Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty Executive Director Grace Hanna told ABC7 she’s alarmed by the record-setting number of executions carried out in Florida in 2025.

Florida executes first person of 2026 after record year

However, Hanna said she’s optimistic about the work they’re doing.

“We have continued to shape the public understanding of the death penalty, and it is so expensive and accident-prone. It doesn’t bring victims the level of closure they were promised. So many times, they come to us and say it’s not what we want, but it’s what we’ve been waiting for all these years,” Hanna said.

Hanna says the state-wide organization works tirelessly to end the death penalty in Florida

“I think it’s beneath us, beneath a dignified society,” she said.

" This is not how we should be treating our fellow humans, particularly people who are already marginalized, you know, you don’t end up on death row because you have a happy, prosperous life. You end up there because you’ve been impacted by racism, classes, trauma, intellectual disability, or mental illness."