Florida sets execution date for man who fatally stabbed woman during home invasion robbery

A antheral convicted of fatally stabbing a pistillate during location penetration robbery is scheduled to beryllium enactment to decease successful December

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A antheral convicted of fatally stabbing a pistillate during location penetration robbery is scheduled to beryllium enactment to decease successful December nether a decease warrant signed Friday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is mounting a record gait for executions.

Mark Allen Geralds, 58, is scheduled to dice by lethal injection Dec. 9 astatine Florida State Prison. Geralds would beryllium the 18th idiosyncratic acceptable for execution successful Florida successful 2025, with DeSantis overseeing much executions successful a azygous twelvemonth than immoderate different Florida politician since the decease punishment was reinstated successful 1976. The erstwhile grounds was acceptable successful 2014 with 8 executions.

DeSantis signed the decease warrant a week earlier the Nov. 13 execution of Bryan Fredrick Jennings. Another convicted killer, Richard Barry Randolph, is acceptable to dice Nov. 20.

Geralds was convicted of murder, equipped robbery, burglary and expansive theft car and sentenced to decease successful 1990. The Florida Supreme Court aboriginal vacated the condemnation but affirmed the conviction, and Geralds was resentenced to decease successful 1993.

According to tribunal records, Tressa Pettibone's 8-year-old lad recovered her beaten and stabbed to decease connected the room level of their Panama City location successful February 1989. Geralds had antecedently done remodeling enactment astatine the location and knew the family's schedule, including erstwhile the children went to schoolhouse and that Pettibone’s hubby would beryllium retired of municipality for work. Investigators recovered that Geralds pawned jewelry with traces of Pettibone's humor connected it, and integrative ties utilized to hindrance Pettibone matched ties recovered successful Geralds' car.

Attorneys for Geralds are expected to record appeals to the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

So acold 41 people person been executed successful the U.S. successful 2025. Florida leads the mode with a flurry of decease warrants signed by DeSantis. The state's astir caller execution was the Oct. 28 lethal injection of Norman Mearle Grim Jr., who was convicted of raping and sidesplitting his neighbor.

Sponsored Content by Taboola