Florida executed Richard Barry Randolph on Thursday for the 1988 rape and murder of his former convenience store manager, marking the state’s 17th execution this year — the most in a single year in Florida’s history.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office confirmed to The Associated Press that Randolph, 63, was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. after receiving a three-drug lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke.
Randolph was convicted in 1989 of murder, armed robbery, sexual battery and grand theft and was sentenced to death. Officials said there were no complications during the execution and that Randolph did not offer any final words.
According to the Department of Corrections, Randolph woke at 6:30 a.m. and later ate a cheeseburger, fries and ice cream. He had one visitor but did not meet with a spiritual advisor. Three members of the victim’s family were expected at the execution, which began around 6 p.m.
The execution extended Florida’s annual record for executions to 17. Before this year, the state’s highest total since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 was eight executions in 2014.
Court records show that in August 1988, Randolph tried to break into a safe at a Palatka convenience store where he used to work. Manager Minnie Ruth McCollum discovered him, and a violent struggle followed. Randolph beat, strangled, stabbed and raped McCollum before fleeing in her car.
Three women saw him leaving the store and alerted authorities after noticing the store was in disarray. A deputy found McCollum still alive, and she was taken to a hospital, where she remained in a coma until she died six days later from severe brain injuries.
Randolph was arrested shortly after at a Jacksonville grocery store while trying to borrow money and cash stolen lottery tickets. Investigators said he admitted to the attack and led them to the bloody clothing he had discarded.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court rejected Randolph’s appeal to overturn his conviction. He argued that the lower court improperly denied access to public records and that his lawyers acted without his consent.
Florida has executed more inmates this year than any other state. Alabama, South Carolina and Texas follow with five executions each. Two more executions are scheduled next month under warrants signed by DeSantis.
Mark Allen Geralds, 58, is scheduled to be executed on December 9 for fatally stabbing a woman during a home invasion robbery. Frank Athen Walls, also 58, is set for execution on December 18 for killing a man and a woman in a home invasion and confessing to three additional murders.
Florida’s lethal injection protocol includes a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart.
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