STARKE, Fla. (AP) — Florida carried out its 17th execution of the year on Thursday, putting to death 63-year-old Richard Barry Randolph, who was convicted of the rape and fatal beating of convenience store manager Minnie Ruth McCollum in 1988.
Randolph was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. following a three-drug lethal injection at Florida State Prison. Officials lifted the curtain at exactly 6:00 p.m., and the drugs began flowing two minutes later. Randolph offered no final words.
Witnesses said Randolph’s eyes remained closed, and his breathing slowed before he went still. A warden attempted to elicit a response, but Randolph showed no movement. A medical examiner officially declared him dead one minute later.
This execution extends Florida’s record for the most executions in a single year since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The previous high was eight in 2014.
1988 killing of Minnie Ruth McCollum
Court records show that in August 1988, Randolph returned to a Palatka convenience store where he previously worked and attempted to break into the safe. When manager Minnie Ruth McCollum confronted him, Randolph beat, strangled, stabbed, and raped her before stealing her car and fleeing.
Three women saw Randolph leaving the store and alerted authorities. A responding deputy found McCollum alive but unresponsive. She died six days later from severe brain injuries.
Randolph was arrested shortly afterward at a Jacksonville grocery store while attempting to cash stolen lottery tickets. Investigators said he confessed and directed officers to his blood‑stained clothing.
Appeals denied
Randolph’s final appeals were rejected by the Florida Supreme Court last week and by the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday morning. He had argued that a lower court wrongfully denied him records and claimed his attorneys acted without his consent.
Executions nationwide
Randolph is the 44th person executed in the U.S. this year, with more executions scheduled for 2025 and 2026. Florida leads the nation in executions this year, followed by Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas.
Two additional executions are already scheduled in Florida:
Mark Allen Geralds, 58, set for Dec. 9, for a fatal stabbing during a home invasion
Frank Athen Walls, 58, set for Dec. 18, for a double homicide and later confessions to multiple other killings
Florida uses a combination of sedative, paralytic, and heart-stopping drug in its lethal injections.
