The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday denied an appeal from death row inmate Andrew Richard Lukehart, affirming a lower court’s decision and clearing the way for his scheduled execution on June 2, 2026.
Lukehart was convicted and sentenced to death for the February 1996 murder of five-month-old Gabrielle Hanshaw in Jacksonville. According to court records, Lukehart was living with the infant’s mother when he forcefully pushed the child’s head and neck onto the floor while changing her diaper. He initially claimed the child was abducted, prompting an 18-hour search, before directing authorities to a rural pond where he had disposed of the body. He was also convicted of aggravated child abuse, an offense for which he was already on probation regarding a previous girlfriend’s baby at the time of the murder.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed Lukehart’s death warrant on May 1, 2026, setting a 32-day timeline leading to the scheduled execution. Lukehart subsequently filed a successive postconviction motion challenging the execution on multiple grounds, which a Duval County circuit court summarily denied on May 12, 2026.
In his appeal to the state’s highest court, Lukehart argued that Florida’s lethal injection protocol constitutes cruel and unusual punishment as applied to him due to severe kidney disease and an allergy to an antihistamine. He further contended that the state’s lethal injection protocol is facially unconstitutional, that the 32-day warrant period violated his due process rights, and that the circuit court erred in denying his requests for additional public records from the District Eight Medical Examiner’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Department of Corrections.
The Florida Supreme Court rejected all four claims in its per curiam opinion.
Regarding the medical claim, the court ruled that the challenge was untimely, noting that Lukehart’s medical records showed deteriorating kidney values starting in 2023, making the claim discoverable well over a year before the warrant litigation. The court also found the claim lacked merit, stating that Lukehart failed to demonstrate that the protocol presents a substantial risk of serious illness or needless suffering, or to identify an available alternative method of execution as required by legal precedent. The court noted that the drug Lukehart is allergic to is not used in Florida’s execution protocol.
The court also dismissed the facial challenge to the lethal injection protocol, citing established precedent upholding the constitutionality of the state’s three-drug mixture.
Addressing the timeline challenge, the court stated that an expedited warrant schedule does not deprive a defendant of due process, noting that Lukehart has challenged his sentence numerous times over nearly 25 years.
Finally, the court found no abuse of discretion in the denial of Lukehart’s public records requests, maintaining that records regarding past executions are not related to a colorable claim concerning future executions.
The court denied Lukehart’s motion for a stay of execution and stated that no motion for rehearing will be entertained. The decision was unanimous, with Chief Justice Muñiz and Justices Labarga, Couriel, Grosshans, Francis, Sasso, and Tanenbaum concurring.
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