Florida Prepares for 17th Execution of 2025
A man convicted of the brutal 1988 rape and murder of his former manager at a Florida convenience store is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Thursday evening. Richard Barry Randolph, 63, is set to receive the injection at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke, according to state officials.
A Vicious Attack and a Lingering Death
Court records detail a horrific sequence of events from August 1988. Randolph attempted to break into the safe at the Handy-Way convenience store in Palatka, where he had previously been employed. He was discovered by the store manager, Minnie Ruth McCollum, leading to a physical struggle.
Randolph subsequently beat, strangled, stabbed, and raped McCollum. After the assault, he fled the scene in the victim's car. Three women witnessed him leaving the store and alerted the sheriff’s office after noticing the disarray inside. A deputy arrived to find McCollum still alive; she was hospitalised in a coma and succumbed to severe brain injuries six days later.
Swift Arrest and Failed Appeals
Randolph's freedom was short-lived. He was arrested shortly after the attack at a Jacksonville grocery store, where he was attempting to borrow money and cash in lottery tickets stolen from the Handy-Way. Investigators stated that Randolph confessed to the crime and led them to the bloody clothing he had discarded.
Convicted in 1989 of murder, armed robbery, sexual battery, and grand theft, Randolph was sentenced to death. His final appeals have been exhausted. The Florida Supreme Court denied his appeals last week, and a final appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was still pending as of the announcement.
This execution will be the 17th carried out in Florida in 2025, significantly extending the state's previous record of eight executions in a single year, set in 2014. Florida has executed more people than any other US state this year.
Broader Context of US Executions
The United States has seen 43 men die by court-ordered execution so far in 2025, with more than a dozen other individuals scheduled to be put to death before the end of the year and into the next. Following Florida, the states of Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas have each executed five people.
Florida's execution protocol, as outlined by the state Department of Corrections, involves a three-drug combination: a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug that stops the heart.
Two further executions are planned in Florida for December. Mark Allen Geralds, 58, is scheduled for execution on 9th December for a fatal stabbing during a home invasion. Frank Athen Walls, 58, is set to follow on 18th December for a double murder during another home invasion, to which he later confessed to three other killings.
