Florida executed David Pittman, 63, by lethal injection on Wednesday for the murders of his estranged wife’s sister and her parents.
State officials said the execution took place at 6:12 p.m. (2212 GMT) at Florida State Prison. Pittman is the 12th inmate executed in Florida this year and the 31st in the U.S., marking the highest annual total since 2014.
Pittman was sentenced to death in 1991 for killing Bonnie Knowles, 21, and her parents Clarence Knowles, 60, and Barbara Knowles, 50. Authorities said he stabbed them to death and then set their home on fire.
His attorneys tried to halt the execution, arguing he is intellectually disabled with an IQ of 70, but courts rejected the appeals.
Florida has carried out more executions this year than any other state, followed by South Carolina and Texas with four each.
Of the 31 executions nationwide, 26 were done by lethal injection, two by firing squad and three by nitrogen hypoxia, a controversial method in which nitrogen gas is pumped into a mask until the inmate suffocates. United Nations experts have condemned the practice as cruel and inhumane.
The death penalty is abolished in 23 U.S. states, and three more — California, Oregon and Pennsylvania — maintain moratoriums.
Former President Donald Trump remains a vocal supporter of capital punishment and, upon taking office, called for its expansion “for the vilest crimes.”
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