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STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man, sentenced for the brutal stabbing deaths of his cousin’s girlfriend and their young daughter, is scheduled for execution Thursday evening.
Richard Knight, aged 47, is slated to receive a lethal injection composed of three drugs at Florida State Prison near Starke, beginning at 6 p.m. Knight was convicted in 2006 for the first-degree murders of Odessia Stephens and her four-year-old daughter, Hanessia Mullings, resulting in his death sentence.
This execution marks Florida’s seventh this year, following a record-setting 19 executions in 2025. Under the leadership of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, the state saw more executions that year than under any other governor since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. The previous high was eight executions, set in 2014.
Court documents reveal that Knight was residing in Coral Springs, near Fort Lauderdale, with his cousin, the cousin’s girlfriend, and their young daughter in June 2000. Tensions between Knight and Stephens were common, primarily over his living arrangements. On the night in question, while his cousin was at work, Stephens informed Knight that he must vacate the premises the following day. Enraged by this demand, Knight fatally stabbed Stephens and then attacked the young girl, according to officials.
While being held at the Broward County Jail following his arrest, Knight confessed the killings to another inmate, who testified against Knight during his trial.
The Florida Supreme Court denied Knight’s appeals last Friday. The court 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 claims based on Florida’s execution protocols and warrant process.
A final appeal was still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
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. Alabama, South Carolina and Texas tied for second with five executions each.
Another execution is planned in Florida on 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 via lethal injection of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.