Richard Randolph is scheduled to be executed by the State of Florida for a murder committed during a robbery
According to court documents Richard Randolph was previously employed at the Handy-Way store in Palatka Florida. On the day of the murder customers would find Randolph locking the front door of the store and telling them that the manager, Minnie Ruth McCollum, vehicle had broken down. Randolph would then drive off with Minnie Ruth McCollum vehicle
Police were called and officers would break into the store finding Minnie Ruth McCollum badly injured. She would be rushed to the hospital however she would die from her injuries
Richard Randolph would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Update – Richard Randolph was executed on November 20 2025 by lethal injection
Richard Randolph Execution News
A man convicted of raping and fatally beating his former manager at a Florida convenience store is scheduled to be put to death in November under a death warrant signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is setting a record pace for executions.
Richard Barry Randolph, 63, is scheduled to die by lethal injection Nov. 20 at Florida State Prison. Randolph would be the 17th person set for execution in Florida in 2025, with DeSantis overseeing more executions in a single year than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous record was set in 2014 with eight executions.
DeSantis signed the death warrant a week before the Oct. 28 scheduled execution of Norman Mearle Grim Jr. Another convicted killer, Bryan Fredrick Jennings, is set to die Nov. 13.
Randolph was convicted of murder, armed robbery, sexual battery and grand theft and sentenced to death in 1989.
According to court records, Randolph attempted to break into the safe at the Handy-Way convenience store in Patatka, where he had previously worked, in August 1988. Randolph was spotted by the manager, Minnie Ruth McCollum, and the two began to struggle. Randolph then beat, strangled, stabbed and raped McCollum before leaving the store and taking the woman’s car.
Three women witnessed Randolph leaving the store and called the sheriff’s office after seeing through the window that the store was in disarray. A deputy responded and found McCollum still alive. She was taken to a hospital in a coma and died six days later of severe brain injuries, according to doctors
Randolph was arrested shortly after the attack at a Jacksonville grocery store while trying to borrow money and cash in lottery tickets stolen from the convenience store, according to deputies. Investigators said Randolph admitted to the attack and directed them to bloody clothing that he had discarded.
Attorneys for Randolph are expected to file appeals to the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
So far 39 people have been executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida leads the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis. The state’s most recent execution was the Oct. 14 lethal injection of Samuel Lee Smithers, convicted of killing two women whose bodies were left in a rural pond.
Richard Barry Randolph set for execution in Florida prison this November | AP News
Richard Randolph Execution
A man convicted of raping and fatal beating his manager at a Florida convenience store in 1988 was put to death Thursday evening in the state’s 17th execution this year.
Richard Barry Randolph, 63, was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. following a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. Randolph was convicted of murder, armed robbery, sexual battery and grand theft and sentenced to death in 1989.
The curtain went up at precisely 6:00 p.m., the scheduled execution time, and authorities began administering the drugs two minutes later after Randolph had no last words.
Randolph’s eyes were closed and his face twitched slightly as the drugs flowed. He breathed heavily for a few minutes before going still, the color drained from his face. A warden shook Randolph and yelled his name, but there was no reaction and no movement. A medic was called in at 6:11 p.m. and Randolph was then pronounced dead.
The execution further extended the state record for total executions in a single year. Since the U.S. Supreme Court restored the death penalty in 1976, the highest previous annual total of Florida executions was eight in 2014.
According to court records, Randolph attempted in August 1988 to break into the safe at a convenience store in Palatka, where he had previously worked. Randolph was spotted by the manager, Minnie Ruth McCollum, and the two began to struggle.
Randolph then beat, strangled, stabbed and raped McCollum before leaving the store and taking the woman’s car, the records show.
Three women witnessed Randolph leaving the store and called the sheriff’s office after seeing through the window that the store was in disarray. A deputy responded and found McCollum still alive. Taken to a hospital in a coma, she died six days later of severe brain injuries, according to doctors.
Randolph was arrested shortly afterward at a Jacksonville grocery store while trying to borrow money and cash in lottery tickets stolen from the convenience store, according to deputies. Investigators said Randolph admitted to the attack and directed them to bloody clothing he had discarded.
The Florida Supreme Court denied Randolph’s appeals last week. He had argued that a lower court had abused its discretion in denying him access to public records and that his own lawyers had acted without his consent. The U.S. Supreme Court denied Randolph’s last appeal Thursday morning.
Including Randolph, a total of 44 men have died by court-ordered execution this year in the U.S., and more than a dozen other people are scheduled to be put to death during the rest of 2025 and next year.
Florida has executed more people than any other state this year, trailed by Alabama, South Carolina and Texas with five each. Two more executions are planned for next month in Florida under death warrants signed by the Republican governor DeSantis.
Mark Allen Geralds, 58, is scheduled for Florida’s 18th execution on Dec. 9. He was convicted of fatally stabbing a woman during home invasion robbery.
Frank Athen Walls, 58, is set for Florida’s 19th execution on Dec. 18. He was convicted of fatally shooting a man and woman during home invasion robbery, and he later confessed to three other killings.
Florida’s lethal injections are carried out with a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the state Department of Corrections.
Florida man executed for the killing of a convenience store manager | AP News
