Florida extends record execution year as man put to death for killing wife's family

Florida has executed David Pittman, 63, by lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, the 12th execution in the state this year. The execution occurred Wednesday at 6:12 p.m., continuing a pace that has set a statewide record for capital punishment in 2025. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Pittman’s death warrant earlier in the week, after Pittman’s case cleared the state’s courts and federal review. The Associated Press described the moment Pittman ceased movement after the injection.

According to authorities, Pittman and his estranged wife were going through a divorce when he went to her family's home in May 1990, fatally stabbing Marie's sister Bonnie Knowles and her parents, Clarence and Barbara Knowles, and then setting their Polk County house on fire. Investigators said he later stole Bonnie's car and also set it on fire. Pittman was convicted in 1991 on three counts of first-degree murder, along with arson and grand theft. Jurors recommended the death penalty with a 9-3 vote.

Pittman’s final appeals centered on claims that he suffered from an intellectual disability at the time of the murders, which could have made the death penalty unconstitutional. The Florida Supreme Court in 2020 held that such claims could not be retroactively applied. The U.S. Supreme Court denied Pittman's last petition earlier this week. After the execution, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd described Pittman as evil and said the crime wiped out an entire family. Advocates for the death penalty argued the state followed the proper procedures and that the sentence was warranted.

Florida’s execution pace this year has drawn national attention, with the state now at 12 executions and two more scheduled for Sept. 30 and Oct. 14, which would bring the total to 14 if carried out. Florida leads the nation in executions for 2025; Texas and South Carolina are tied for second with four each. Across the United States, 31 executions have been carried out so far in 2025.

Reaction to the pace remains divided. Advocates against the death penalty say the speed undermines due process and harms families; Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty called the year a dark chapter and urged the state to pause. Prior to this year, Florida's previous yearly record was eight executions in 2014. The ongoing debate over intellectual disability and procedural rules continues to shape future cases.