Florida death row inmates are barred from ordering alcohol and tobacco for their final meals, restrictions that applied to Daniel Owen Conahan Jr. Ahead of his execution last Wednesday.
Conahan, 72, received a three-drug lethal injection at Florida State Prison and was pronounced dead at 6:12 pm on September 10, according to the Department of Corrections. He had spent more than 25 years on death row.
The convicted murderer selected a last meal of chicken, a baked potato, corn, soda and pumpkin pie, prison records show. He declined to make a final statement and did not meet with any visitors in his final hours.
Florida imposes strict limits on execution-eve dining beyond the two outright banned items. Inmates must stay within a $40 budget, and all ingredients must be sourced locally. Fast food chain orders are prohibited, and prison staff must prepare the food rather than allowing outside restaurant deliveries.
Conahan was sentenced to death in 1996 for the kidnapping and strangling of Richard Allen Montgomery, whose mutilated body was found in the woods of southwest Florida. Montgomery had been targeted after being offered money to pose for nude photographs, and investigators determined Conahan lured him to the remote area before killing him.
The discovery of Montgomery’s body was not an isolated find. At least six other bodies turned up in the same wooded area over a three-year span, leading authorities to suspect a single perpetrator in what became known as the “Hog Trail Murders.” Officers noted that any victims found within a 10-mile radius were likely killed by the same person. Despite the pattern of discoveries, Conahan was never charged with any additional homicides.
Throughout his incarceration, Conahan maintained his innocence. This claim of innocence persisted through more than two decades of appeals and delays before the state carried out the sentence.
Florida has accelerated its pace of executions significantly in 2025. Conahan marked the 15th inmate put to death by the state this year, contributing to a national total of 47 executions across the United States. The Department of Corrections confirmed that all Florida executions employ a three-drug protocol: a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug that stops the heart.
The state’s execution schedule continues with at least one more date already calendared. Another Florida inmate is set to be executed on September 29.
Governor Ron DeSantis has addressed the increased frequency of executions, stating that the rising numbers reflect a commitment to delivering justice rather than any procedural change. The 19 lethal injections administered in Florida this year represent the highest state total nationwide.
The $40 meal budget and local-sourcing requirement mean that even permitted final meal selections are constrained by availability and cost. Pumpkin pie, Conahan’s dessert choice, falls within these guidelines when prepared on-site by prison kitchen staff.
The next scheduled execution in Florida will take place in Starke.