Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Florida on Thursday executed a death row inmate convicted of rape and murder of a convenience store clerk in 1988, a record 17th execution in the Sunshine State and the 7th military veteran it has killed this year.
Richard B. Randolph, 63, was executed by a three-drug lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, located about 56 miles southwest of Jacksonville. He was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. EST, the Florida Department of Corrections said in a statement.
The execution is Florida's 17th of this year, which sets a new annual record that is likely to continue to increase during the final two months of 2025. The previous record for a year was eight executions, which occurred in 2014.
Randolph was executed for the 1988 murder of 62-year-old Minnie Ruth McCollum in the Florida city of Palatka, located about 64 miles south of Jacksonville, after being convicted in 1989 and sentenced to death in an 8-4 jury verdict.
The Supreme Court rejected his final appeal on Thursday without explanation. His lawyers had argued that Randolph, an orphan, was "horribly abused" by his adopted parents and was represented during his trial by "counsel who failed to effectively investigate and present his background and life story."
