Florida man convicted raping and killing his former manager is set to be executed
STARKE, Fla. (AP) — 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 RandolphThe 63-year-old man will undergo a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke starting at 6 p.m. Randolph was convicted of murder, armed robbery, sexual assault, and grand larceny and sentenced to death in 1989.
This will be Florida’s 17th death sentence executed in 2025, further extending the state’s record for total executions in a year.
In August 1988, Randolph tried to break into the cash register at the Handy-Way convenience store in Palatka, where he previously worked, according to court records. Randolph was spotted by manager Minnie Ruth McCollum and the two began to struggle.
Records show Randolph beat, choked, stabbed and raped McCollum before leaving the store and taking the woman’s car.
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. He was hospitalized while in a coma and died six days later due to severe brain damage, according to doctors.
According to deputies, Randolph was arrested shortly after the attack at a grocery store in Jacksonville while trying to borrow money and cash from lottery tickets stolen from the store. Investigators said Randolph admitted to the attack and directed them to the bloody clothing he had discarded.
The Florida Supreme Court rejected Randolph’s appeals last week. He argued that a lower court abused its discretion in denying him access to public records and that his own defense attorneys acted without his consent. A final appeal was still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Total 43 men died by execution by court order More than a dozen people are scheduled to be executed in the United States so far this year over the remainder of 2025 and next year.
The previous highest annual execution total in Florida since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976 was eight in 2014. Florida has executed more people this year than any other state; Alabama, South Carolina and Texas followed with five executions each. Two more executions are scheduled for next month in Florida under death warrants signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Mark Allen GeraldsThe 58-year-old man is scheduled to be executed for the 18th time on December 9 in Florida. He was convicted of fatally stabbing a woman during a home invasion.
Frank Athens Walls(58) is preparing for his 19th execution on December 18 in Florida. He was convicted of fatally shooting a man and woman during a home invasion and later confessed to three other murders.
In Florida, lethal injections are performed with a sedating, paralyzing and heart-stopping drug, according to the state Department of Corrections.
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