Florida Man Executed in 1988 Death of Former Boss

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 6:12pm following a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, the office of Gov. Ron DeSantis said. Randolph was convicted of murder, armed robbery, sexual battery, and grand theft and sentenced to death in 1989. A DeSantis spokesman said that there were no complications during the procedure and that Randolph had no last words, the AP reports.

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 Minnie Ruth McCollum, the manager, and the two began to struggle. Randolph then beat, choked, 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 responding found McCollum still alive. Taken to a hospital in a coma, she died six days later of severe brain injuries. Randolph was arrested shortly afterward at a Jacksonville grocery store while trying to borrow money and cash in lottery tickets stolen from the convenience store.

The Florida Supreme Court denied Randolph's appeals last week. He had argued that a lower court abused its discretion in denying him access to public records and that his own lawyers had acted without his consent. The US Supreme Court denied Randolph's last appeal Thursday morning. Including Randolph, a total of 44 men have died by court-ordered execution this year in the US, and more than a dozen other people are scheduled to be put to death during the rest of 2025 and next year.