A 63-year-old murderer maintained his innocence in his final words before being executed by lethal injection in Florida. James Pittman was put to death just after 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Florida State Prison near Starke, under a death warrant signed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
Pittman's last words were: 'I know you all came to watch an innocent man be murdered by the state of Florida. I am innocent. I didn't kill anybody. That's it,' according to a statement from the governor's office. He was convicted in 1990 of murdering three people in Mulberry, east of Tampa, and setting their house on fire.
The victims were Clarence Knowles, 60, his wife Barbara Knowles, 50, and their daughter Bonnie Knowles, 21. They were found stabbed to death and burned in their home on May 15, 1990. Pittman and his wife Marie were going through a contentious divorce at the time, and investigators said he had threatened to harm her family.
Trial testimony showed Pittman cut the phone line at the Knowles' home, stabbed the couple and their daughter to death, set the house on fire, and stole Bonnie's car, which he also set ablaze. He was sentenced to death on three counts of first-degree murder, grand theft, and arson. His final appeal was rejected by the US Supreme Court on Tuesday.
On the day of his execution, Pittman awoke at 5:45 a.m. and later had a meal of steak, chicken, and biscuits. Governor DeSantis has signed more death warrants this year than any of his predecessors. Advocacy group Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty urged DeSantis to stop the execution, calling the death penalty 'punishment-as-spectacle' that does not make society safer.
