In a somber turn of events, Richard Randolph, a 63-year-old man convicted of the 1988 rape and murder of his former store manager, was executed by lethal injection on Thursday in Florida. The execution took place at 6:12 pm (2312 GMT) at a state prison in Raiford, as confirmed by the Florida Department of Corrections. Randolph was sentenced to death in 1989 for the brutal killing of Minnie McCollum, a 62-year-old convenience store manager. Court documents reveal that Randolph committed the heinous act after McCollum caught him attempting to break into the store’s safe. Florida has been at the forefront of executions in the United States this year, with 17 carried out so far, surpassing other states like Alabama and Texas, each with five executions. Randolph’s death marks the 44th execution in the U.S. in 2025, the highest number since 2010 when 46 inmates were executed. The majority of this year’s executions—36—were conducted via lethal injection, while three were carried out by firing squad and five by nitrogen hypoxia, a method criticized by United Nations experts as cruel and inhumane. The death penalty remains a contentious issue in the U.S., with 23 states having abolished it and three others—California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania—imposing moratoriums. President Donald Trump has been a vocal advocate for capital punishment, calling for its expanded use for the most severe crimes on his first day in office.