Florida man convicted of raping, killing his former manager set to be executed

A man convicted of raping and fatally beating his former manager at a Florida convenience store is set to be the 17th person executed in Florida this year

STARKE, Fla. -- A man convicted of raping and fatally beating his former manager at a Florida convenience store in 1988 is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening.

Richard Barry Randolph, 63, is set to receive a lethal injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Randolph was convicted of murder, armed robbery, sexual battery and grand theft and sentenced to death in 1989.

It would be Florida's 17th death sentence carried out in 2025, further extending the state record for total executions in a single year.

According to court records, Randolph attempted to break into the safe at the Handy-Way convenience store in Palatka, where he had previously worked, in August 1988. Randolph was spotted by the manager, Minnie Ruth 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. She was taken to a hospital in a coma and died six days later of severe brain injuries, according to doctors.

Randolph was arrested shortly after the attack at a Jacksonville grocery store while trying to borrow money and 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 that 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 defense lawyers had acted without his consent. A final appeal was still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

A total of 43 men have died by court-ordered execution so far this year in the U.S., and more than a dozen other people are scheduled to be put to death during the remainder of 2025 and next year.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court restored the death penalty in 1976, the highest previous annual total of Florida executions was eight in 2014. Florida has executed more people than any other state this year, followed by Alabama, South Carolina and Texas with five each. Two more executions are planned for next month in Florida under death warrants signed by Republican Gov. Ron 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.

—vFlorida'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.

Source: The Associated Press, David Fischer, November 20, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

Comments

Iran: Flogging still a common practice

Flogging of Sufis in Gonabad: Fourteen Ne’matollahi dervishes received 25 lashes each for allegedly disturbing the public security "The lash ruling against 14 Ne'matollahi dervishes of Gonabad was carried out. They were residents of Baydokht and had been arrested and condemned by the Public Prosecutor of Gonabad after a protest against the illegal treatment dealing with the Sufis in June of last year [2010]. According to the website of Majzuban-e-Nur, Mr. Sa'id Kashani, Mr. Amir Roshan-Mojaver-Sufi, Mr. Alimohammad Amanian, Mr. Ruhollah Safari, Mr. Ali Abbasi-Baydokhti, Mr. Ebrahim Abbaszadeh, Mr. Mohammadali Ja'fari, Mr. Hossein Mahdavi, Mr. Hossein Abbaszadeh-Baydokhti, Mr. Rahmat Hosseini, Mr. Reza Kakhki, Mr. Behruz Mojaver-Sufi, Mr. Ali Mir, and Mr. Hassan Baluchi-Baydokhti are the fourteen dervishes whose requests were not only rejected, but who were condemned to 25 lashes for disturbing the public security. It should be mentioned that Ruhollah Safari, the ...

Japan’s Internet Wants Uchida Riko Executed. Here’s Why That Won’t Happen

This week, the prosecution in the case of a murder of a 17-year-old girl in Hokkaido came out with its sentencing recommendation. Japanese social media reacted by clamoring for the accused woman’s blood. But, while the facts of the case are heinous, the prosecutor’s decision not to seek the death penalty is grounded in long-standing precedent. Murdered for looking at the accused wrong Uchida Riko (内田梨瑚), 23, and her friends stand accused of murdering 17-year-old Murayama Runa (村山瑠奈) in Hokkaido’s Asahikawa. Prosecutors say the dispute began after Murayama posted a photo of Uchida to social media. They say Uchida’s group abducted the girl, made her undress, and then forced her to jump from a bridge.

Kansas AG urges governor to deny clemency to 8 sentenced to death

TOPEKA — Attorney General Kris Kobach on Tuesday urged the governor to deny clemency to Kansas inmates who have been sentenced to death. Eight of nine people sentenced to death in Kansas formally filed clemency requests in May, according to a press release from the Attorney General’s Office. Kobach urged Gov. Laura Kelly to reject them.

I watched Ohio's last execution. Here's what it was like

As Gov. DeWine calls for Ohio to end capital punishment, the state’s last execution remains the one I witnessed in 2018 Inside Ohio's death house, there is a room for executions and separate witness rooms: one for those connected to the victim and another for those connected to the inmate. Windows separate the death chamber from those watching, the condemned from the living. I was there on July 18, 2018 – during Ohio’s most recent execution. Robert Van Hook was put to death that day for killing David Self in 1985. He sat on death row for three decades. I was one of three media witnesses to the execution.

New Mississippi billboard warns criminals: ‘Firing squad is legal’

DESOTO COUNTY, Miss. (WREG) — A billboard standing on Interstate 55 southbound as you cross the Tennessee state line and enter Mississippi from Memphis is sending a grim message to those coming into the state. DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton recently announced the new billboard campaign, which features the sign reading, “WELCOME TO MISSISSIPPI. WHERE THE FIRING SQUAD IS LEGAL. THINK TWICE.” It references Mississippi’s law permitting execution by firing squad under certain circumstances for inmates sentenced to death. Barton says this campaign is aimed at deterring violent crime and sends a direct message to criminals entering Mississippi.

Gov. Mike DeWine calls for Ohio to abolish the death penalty

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Gov. Mike DeWine Tuesday morning called on Ohio to abolish the death penalty, citing data that he said proves it is no longer a deterrent to violent crime. “For the state to take a human life, there must, in my opinion, there must be evidence that in doing so it will help protect the public, that the threat of that action will deter someone from committing murder,” DeWine said. “I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made.” DeWine cited data showing a decline in the last four decades of executions being carried out and an increase in the time inmates spend on death row.

20 Minutes to Death: Witness to the Last Execution in France

The following document is a firsthand account of the final moments of Hamida Djandoubi, a convicted murderer executed by guillotine at Marseille’s Baumettes Prison on September 10, 1977. The record—dated September 9—was written by Monique Mabelly, a judge appointed by the state to witness the proceedings. Djandoubi’s execution would ultimately be the last carried out in France before capital punishment was abolished in 1981. At the time, President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing—who had publicly voiced his "deep aversion to the death penalty" prior to his election—rejected Djandoubi’s appeal for clemency. Choosing to let "justice take its course," the President allowed the execution to proceed, just as he had in two previous cases during his term: Christian Ranucci , executed on July 28, 1976 and Jérôme Carrein , executed on June 23, 1977. Hamida Djandoubi , a Tunisian national, was sentenced to death for killing his former lover, Elisabeth Bousquet. He was execu...

Two men executed with AK-47 for raping and murdering boy, 12, in Yemen as children watch on

“Public execution is an even more grotesque violation of human rights, particularly in a country where the ability of the accused to obtain adequate legal representation and the coverage of the process is highly limited.” -- Human Rights Watch director Sarah Leah Whitson TWO paedophiles have been executed with AK-47s in front of a bloodthirsty crowd for raping and murdering a 12-year-old boy in Yemen. Chilling images show Wadah Refat and Mohamed Khaled being marched at gunpoint through the port city of Aden. Yemen is one of the few countries in the world where capital punishment is legal, and even children were in attendance to watch the gruesome event. Refat, 28, and Khaled, 31, were condemned for the abduction, rape, and murder of a young boy who was snatched after playing next to the house of one of the men. The pair reportedly dragged him into their home and raped him. When sentencing the pair, The Daily Star reported that the judge said: “Afte...

Florida execution of 74-year-old death row inmate Dusty Ray Spencer reignites debate

Florida has set an execution date of June 25, 2026, for 74-year-old death row inmate Dusty Ray Spencer, a move that would make him the oldest person ever executed in the state’s history . Governor Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant on May 26, 2026, marking the tenth such warrant issued this year as the state continues its current pace of capital punishment. Spencer was convicted in 1992 of the first-degree murder of his wife, Karen Spencer, in Orange County. Court records detail a prolonged and violent pattern of abuse preceding the homicide. On January 18, 1992, after prior incidents of physical assault and threats, Spencer stabbed his wife to death in their backyard. The trial evidence included testimony that the victim was alive and conscious during the attack, which involved blunt force trauma and multiple stab wounds while the couple's son was present.

Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch wanted an execution that a Trump judge deemed illegal

The Supreme Court these days is generally in the business of helping executions go forward. But on Thursday night, the court did something notable: It told Alabama no. Even then, the court wasn't unanimous. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented from the refusal to let the nitrogen gas execution of Jeffery Lee proceed. What prompted the rare rejection? In line with the typical shadow docket practice, the court didn't explain itself. Nor did the dissenters, who merely noted their disagreement. But a deeper look at the case helps us understand why a majority of the court was unwilling to help the state this time.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog