STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man convicted of fatally stabbing his cousin’s girlfriend and the couple's 4-year-old daughter was put to death Thursday, becoming the seventh person executed by the state this year.
Richard Knight, 47, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. after receiving a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, the office of Gov. Ron DeSantis said. DeSantis spokesman Alex Lanfranconi told The Associated Press by phone that
there were no complications.
Knight drew the death penalty for his murder convictions in the June 2002 killings of Odessia Stephens and her daughter, Hanessia Mullings.
Florida's seventh execution of the year followed a record 19 executions in the state in 2025. DeSantis, a Republican, oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous Florida record was eight executions carried out in 2014.
According to court records, Knight had been living in Coral Springs, near Fort Lauderdale, with his cousin, his cousin's girlfriend and their daughter in 2000. Knight and Stephens frequently argued about Knight living there. One evening while Knight's cousin was at work, Stephens told Knight he would have to move out the next morning. Knight became angry and stabbed Stephens multiple times and then attacked the young girl, the records show.
While being held at the Broward County Jail following his arrest, Knight confessed to another inmate that he had committed the killings, according to court records. The inmate testified against Knight during his trial.
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis.
Earlier Thursday, the planned execution of Tennessee inmate Tony Carruthers was called off after officials established the main IV line for a lethal injection but said they couldn't find a suitable vein for a backup line as required. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced the state would not try again for at least a year to execute Carruthers, who was convicted of murdering three people.
Attorney Maria DeLiberato said she saw her client Carruthers “wincing and groaning” during attempts to insert the IV line.
Florida, meanwhile, is preparing to hold another execution scheduled for June 2. Andrew Richard Lukehart, 53, was convicted of fatally beating of his girlfriend's infant daughter in 1996.
All Florida executions are carried out by lethal injection using a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the statThe Florida Supreme Court denied Knight’s appeals last Friday. It rejected his claim of newly discovered evidence, pointing out that an unidentified fingerprint found on a knife at the murder scene was known about and addressed during Knight’s original trial. The court also rejected other claims based on Florida’s execution protocols and warrant process.
Hours before Thursday’s execution, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a final appeal without comment. Knight declined a last meal and did not meet with any visitors or spiritual adviser, Florida Department of Corrections spokesman Jordan Kirkland said at an afternoon news conference.e Department of Corrections.
