Attorneys for Daniel Conahan Jr. have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to halt a scheduled Thursday execution in Florida. The legal team is seeking a stay to allow for DNA testing related to the 1996 killing of Richard Montgomery .
The 24-hour denial following DeSantis's August 11 warrant
The legal battle intensified after Governor Ron DeSantis signed Daniel Conahan Jr.'s death warrant on August 11. As reported by the source, the state postconviction court denied Conahan's motion for DNA testing within just 24 hours of that signing.. This rapid judicial response has become a central point of contention for the defense, who argue that the rush to execute bypasses the scientific scrutiny necessary for a just outcome.
The defense's petition to the Supreme Court on Monday highlights a perceived conflict between the state's execution timeline and the pending request for forensic review. They suggest that the legal process is being rushed to meet a predetermined deadline, potentially before all avenues of scientific verification have been exhausted.
The 1996 Charlotte County investigation and the Montgomery murder
The case stems from the April 1996 kidnapping and strangulation of Richard Montgomery in a wooded area of Charlotte County, Florida. According to the report, Montgomery's body was discovered in a remote, trash-filled location, having been subjected to extreme violence, including emasculation. Investigators at the time linked Conahan to the crime after alleging he paid Montgomery to pose for nude photographs.
While Conahan has consistently denied involvement in the killing, the brutality of the crime and its connection to other suspected homicides in southwest Florida during the 1990s led to his death sentence. The defense maintains that modern DNA technology could fundamentally re-evaluate these decades-old findings and provide a more accurate account of the events in Charlotte County.
The defense's narrow focus on a stay over a declaration of innocence
In their emergency filing, Conahan’s legal team is attempting to limit the scope of their appeal to avoid a broader confrontation with the state. They clarified that the petition is not an immediate demand for Conahan's release or a formal declaration of his innocence. Instead, the lawyers are asking the Supreme Court to pause the imminent execution so that the merits of the DNA testing claims can be reviewed.
As the filing states, "Mr . Conanha does not ask to be declared innocent at this posture." Rather, the team is seeking a stay to allow for a review of his "meritorious claims." This strategic move aims to focus the Court's attention on the procedural necessity of scientific evidence before a final, irreversible punishment is carried out.
The unknown specifics of the Charlotte County DNA evidence
Several critical details regarding the requested DNA testing remain unverified in the current reporting. It is not yet clear exactly what specific biological material from the Charlotte County scene or Montgomery’s body is expected to yield new results. Furthermore,the source does not specify which laboratory or testing methodology the defense intends to use, nor does it clarify if the state has formally contested the scientific viability of the requested tests.
With the lethal injection scheduled for this Thursday, the Supreme Court's decision is the final hurdle. If the stay is denied, Florida will proceed with the execution,potentially before the forensic questions raised by the defense are ever answered. This leaves the case in a race against a ticking clock, where the window for scientific verification is closing rapidly.
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