STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of raping and fatal beating his manager at a Florida convenience store in 1988 was put to death Thursday evening in the state’s record 17th execution this year.
Richard Barry Randolph, 63, was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. following a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. Randolph was convicted of murder, armed robbery, sexual battery and grand theft and sentenced to death in 1989 for the killing of Minnie Ruth McCollum.
The curtain to the death chamber went up exactly at 6:00 p.m., the scheduled execution time, and authorities began administering the drugs two minutes later after Randolph had no last words.
As the drugs flowed, Randolph’s eyes were closed and his face twitched slightly. He breathed heavily for a few minutes before going still, the color drained from his face. A warden shook Randolph and yelled his name, but there was no reaction and no movement. A medic was called in at 6:11 p.m. and Randolph was subsequently pronounced dead.
Jordan Kirkland, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections, said at a news briefing afterward that the family of the victim had asked him to thank Gov. Ron DeSantis on their behalf. Kirkland said earlier that three members of the victim’s family had planned to be witnesses but he didn’t elaborate.
DeSantis, the Republican who signed the death warrant, has ordered more executions in a single year than any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in the U.S. in 1976. The previous state record was eight executions in 2014. DeSantis said recently that his goal is to bring justice to victims’ families who have waited decades for the death sentences to be carried out.
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According to court records, Randolph attempted in August 1988 to break into the safe at a convenience store in Palatka, where he had previously worked. Randolph was spotted by the manager, McCollum, and the two began to struggle.
Randolph then beat, strangled, stabbed and raped McCollum before leaving the store and taking the woman’s car, the records show.
Three women witnessed Randolph leaving the store and called the sheriff’s office after seeing through the window that the store was in disarray. A deputy responded and found McCollum still alive. Taken to a hospital in a coma, she died six days later of severe brain injuries, according to doctors.
Randolph was arrested shortly afterward at a Jacksonville grocery store while trying to borrow money and also cash in lottery tickets stolen from the convenience store, according to deputies. Investigators said Randolph admitted to the attack and directed them to bloody clothing he had discarded.
The Florida Supreme Court denied Randolph’s appeals last week. He had argued that a lower court had abused its discretion in denying him access to public records and that his own lawyers had acted without his consent. The U.S. Supreme Court denied Randolph’s final appeal Thursday morning.
Including Randolph, a total of 44 men have died by court-ordered execution this year in the U.S., and more than a dozen other people are scheduled to be put to death during the rest of 2025 and next year.
Florida has executed more people than any other state this year, trailed by Alabama, South Carolina and Texas with five each. Two more executions are planned next month in Florida under death warrants signed by DeSantis.
Mark Allen Geralds, 58, is scheduled for Florida’s 18th execution on Dec. 9. He was convicted of fatally stabbing a woman during home invasion robbery.
Frank Athen Walls, 58, is set for Florida’s 19th execution on Dec. 18. He was convicted of fatally shooting a man and woman during home invasion robbery, and he later confessed to three other killings.
Florida’s lethal injections are carried out with a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the state Department of Corrections.
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Follow David Fischer on the social platform Bluesky: @dwfischer.bsky.social
