Richard Barry Randolph, 63, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison this evening, Thursday, November 20, 2025, starting at 6 p.m. Randolph was convicted of the 1988 murder, sexual battery, armed robbery, and grand theft of his former manager at a Palatka convenience store.
The Crime and Conviction
In August 1988, Randolph, who had previously worked at the Handy-Way convenience store in Palatka, attempted to break into the store’s safe. He was discovered by the store manager, Minnie Ruth McCollum, leading to a violent struggle. According to court records, Randolph beat, strangled, stabbed, and raped McCollum before fleeing the scene in her car.
Three women witnessed Randolph leaving the store and alerted the sheriff’s office after seeing the store in disarray. A responding deputy found McCollum still alive. She was transported to a hospital but tragically succumbed to severe brain injuries and died six days later.
Randolph was apprehended shortly after the attack at a Jacksonville grocery store, where he was attempting to borrow money and cash in lottery tickets stolen from the convenience store. Investigators reported that Randolph admitted to the attack and directed them to the bloody clothing he had discarded. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1989.
Appeals Denied
Randolph’s final appeals have been consistently denied. Last week, the Florida Supreme Court rejected his arguments, which included claims that a lower court improperly denied him access to public records and that his defense lawyers acted without his consent. A final appeal remains pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Florida’s executions are carried out using a three-drug cocktail consisting of a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug to stop the heart, as specified by the state Department of Corrections.
Florida Extends Execution Record
Randolph’s execution would mark the 17th death sentence carried out in Florida in 2025, further extending the state’s record for total executions in a single year. Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, Florida’s previous high for annual executions was eight, set in 2014.
Florida has executed more people than any other U.S. state this year, followed by Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas, which each have carried out five executions.
A total of 43 men have died by court-ordered execution so far this year in the U.S. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed warrants for two more executions scheduled next month:
- Mark Allen Geralds, 58, is scheduled for December 9, convicted of fatally stabbing a woman during a home invasion robbery.
- Frank Athen Walls, 58, is set for December 18, convicted of fatally shooting a couple during a home invasion robbery and later confessing to three other killings.
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