A man from Florida was executed on Thursday night after being convicted of murdering his cousin’s girlfriend and their 4-year-old daughter. Richard Knight, 47, became the seventh person executed in the state this year.
He was declared dead at the Florida State Penitentiary near Stark at 6:13 p.m. after receiving three lethal injections. Knight faced conviction for first-degree murder in the killings of Odessia Stevens and Hanesia Mullins in June 2002.
As the execution time approached, the curtain in the death chamber lifted at 6 p.m., revealing Knight restrained and prepared for the process. When asked if he had a final statement, he expressed gratitude, saying, “I would like to thank Yahweh, the supreme God.”
Shortly after his statement, the procedure began. He seemed still, closing his eyes as the lethal drugs entered his system. About ten minutes later, medical personnel were summoned, and Knight was pronounced dead.
This execution marks the seventh for Florida this year and follows an unprecedented total of 19 executions in the state in 2025. The previous high in Florida was eight executions in 2014. Overall, 47 individuals are expected to be executed across the U.S. in 2025.
Reports from court indicate that Knight lived with his cousin, his cousin’s girlfriend, and their daughter in Coral Springs, near Fort Lauderdale. Tensions reportedly arose often, especially when Stevens insisted that Knight leave their home one night while her partner was at work. In a fit of rage, Knight stabbed Stevens several times and then turned on the young girl.
After the execution, Hans Mullins, Stevens’ boyfriend and father of her daughter, spoke to reporters, sharing that the emotional toll remains heavy for his family. “The pain never goes away,” he noted, adding their ongoing love and loss.
Although Stevens’ family members were not present for the execution, they released a statement expressing a sense of closure. “Words cannot express the deep sense of peace we feel today,” they said, acknowledging that the tragic events won’t vanish but that this chapter’s end allows them to honor Odessia and Hanesia’s lives.
In their statement, they also reflected on forgiveness, saying, “Richard, may our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ grant you the mercy he did not extend to the loved ones you so cruelly took from us that night.”
Earlier in the day, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Knight’s appeal without comment, which came just after Tennessee halted an execution for a different inmate, Tony Carruthers, due to difficulties in establishing IV access. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee later announced that they would not attempt Carruthers’ execution for at least a year.
Additionally, this week, an Arizona inmate, Leroy Dean McGill, was sentenced to death for killing another man by setting him on fire in 2002. Florida is also set to execute Andrew Richard Lukehart on June 2nd, who was convicted of murdering his girlfriend’s young daughter in 1996.
All executions in Florida utilize lethal injections, which consist of a combination of sedatives, paralytics, and heart-stopping drugs, as per the officials.
