Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant directing that Billy Leon Kearse, convicted in the Jan. 18, 1991, murder of Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish, be executed.

Kearse, 53, is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on March 3, according to documents posted on the Florida Supreme Court website. DeSantis has also signed death warrants to execute Ronald Heath on Feb. 10 and Melvin Trotter on Feb. 24.

Parrish, 29, died after being shot more than a dozen times by Kearse, who was 18 when Parrish pulled him over for driving the wrong way on a one-way street. Kearse, now 53, managed to get Parrish’s service weapon and started firing.

Kearse was sentenced to death in March 1997, according to DeSantis’ order.

Here’s what we know about the decades-old case.

Who is Billy Leon Kearse? What is he convicted of?

Billy Leon Kearse was convicted in October 1991 of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm.

During a 1991 traffic stop, Kearse, then 18, gave false names and had no valid driver’s license. A struggle began when Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish tried to handcuff Kearse, who grabbed the officer’s service weapon and shot him 13 times. Parrish later died from his injuries.

Kearse was sentenced in to death in March 1997.

When will Billy Leon Kearse be executed?

Kearse’s execution is set for March 3 in Florida State Prison, Raiford, in Bradford County. Kearse is scheduled to die by lethal injection.

What did the widow of Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish say about the death warrant?

“It’s kind of bittersweet because to say that I wish anybody harm or death would be not human of me,” Busbin said. “That’s not right, but to get a final closure for the act that he did, the heinous act, it’s very much needed and very much, well, well overdue.”

Busbin, a victim advocate at the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, said she was called Jan. 29 by a victim advocate from the governor’s office about the order.

“I’ve lived it for 35 years like it happened yesterday, and all I can say is fight, keep fighting,” Busbin said. “If this happens to a loved one of yours or you have a family member that’s gone through something like this, keep fighting.”

Busbin said she plans to attend the execution, scheduled for March 3 in Florida State Prison, Raiford.

“I’ve been through it the whole 34 years,” she said. “I’ve been to the trials, hearings. I’ve stayed in tune with the whole thing, so I have to see it to the end.”

Case draws questions about Florida’s death penalty

During a Jan. 30 media briefing, 19th Circuit State Attorney Tom Bakkedahl, standing next to Busbin, Sheriff Richard Del Toro and Fort Pierce Police Interim Chief Robert Ridle, outlined a series of twists and turns in the case.

“This case went before the Florida Supreme Court no fewer than 11 times, before the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta three times, and before the United States Supreme Court another three times,” he said.

More: DeSantis signs death warrant for killer of Fort Pierce police officer in 1991

Bakkedahl expressed frustration with the criminal justice system.

“If we’re not going to do this in an efficient, just manner, have the courage to stand up and say we’re no longer going to have the death penalty,” Bakkedahl said. “But if you’re going to have the death penalty, you cannot put these people through the pain and the torture that we do for 35 years.”

Greg Kirk joined Fort Pierce Police in 1981 and retired in 2014 as Deputy Chief. In an interview Jan. 30, Kirk said it’s a shame people are on death row for decades before a death warrant is signed.

“If we have the death penalty in our state, then we should actually follow through on the death penalty expeditiously,” Kirk said.

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This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Fort Pierce, Florida cop killer’s death warrant signed. What to know