A Florida man convicted of raping and murdering his former manager during a brutal convenience store robbery in 1988 has been executed by lethal injection, bringing closure to a case that has spanned nearly four decades.
The Brutal Crime That Shocked Florida
Richard Barry Randolph, aged 63, was put to death on Thursday evening at Florida's state prison, marking the state's seventeenth execution this year. The execution proceeded without complications, and Randolph was declared dead at 6:12 p.m. without offering any final words.
The convicted murderer had been on death row since 1989 for the horrific attack on Minnie Ruth McCollum, his 62-year-old former manager at the Handy Way Convenience Store in Palatka. The crime occurred when Randolph, then 27, attempted to break into the store's safe and was discovered by McCollum during the burglary attempt.
A Prolonged Attack and Tragic Aftermath
Court records reveal that after McCollum walked in on Randolph during the attempted robbery, a struggle ensued. What followed was described as a 'brutal and prolonged' assault where Randolph beat, strangled, stabbed and sexually assaulted the store manager before fleeing the scene in her vehicle.
Three alert women witnessed Randolph leaving the store and noticed through the window that the establishment was in disarray. They immediately contacted authorities. Police arrived promptly and found McCollum still alive but critically injured.
McCollum was rushed to hospital in a coma but never regained consciousness. She succumbed to her injuries six days later, with doctors attributing her death to severe brain injuries sustained during the attack.
Investigation and Legal Proceedings
Randolph's freedom was short-lived. He was arrested shortly after the crime at a Jacksonville grocery store where he was attempting to borrow money and cash in lottery tickets stolen from the convenience store.
During interrogation, Randolph confessed to the attack and even directed investigators to the bloody clothing he had discarded following the violent assault.
In 1989, Randolph was convicted on multiple charges including murder, armed robbery, sexual battery and grand theft, receiving the death penalty for his crimes.
His recent appeals to both the Florida Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court were denied, with the latter rejecting his final appeal on the morning of his execution. Randolph had argued that a lower court abused its discretion in denying him access to public records and that his lawyers had acted without his consent.
The execution brings to a close one of Florida's longest-standing capital punishment cases, thirty-seven years after the brutal crime that claimed Minnie Ruth McCollum's life.
