A Florida man is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday evening for the 1990 murders of three members of his estranged wife’s family, in what will be the 31st execution in the United States this year.
David Pittman, 63, is set to die at 6:00 p.m. local time (2200 GMT) at Florida State Prison, becoming the 12th person executed in the state this year, the highest number of executions carried out by any US state in 2025 so far.
Pittman was convicted and sentenced to death in 1991 for the brutal killings of Bonnie Knowles, 21, the sister of his estranged wife, and her parents, Clarence Knowles, 60, and Barbara Knowles, 50. All three victims were stabbed to death before their home was set on fire in an attempt to cover up the crime.
In the lead-up to the execution, Pittman’s attorneys filed appeals seeking a stay, arguing that he is intellectually disabled with an IQ of approximately 70 — a threshold that, under US law, could make him ineligible for execution. However, multiple courts denied the appeals, clearing the way for the sentence to be carried out.
Pittman’s execution will mark the 31st in the US this year, the most since 2014, when 35 inmates were executed nationwide. Florida leads the nation in executions in 2025 with 12 so far, followed by Texas and South Carolina with four each.
Of the 31 executions carried out this year, 25 were by lethal injection. Two were carried out by firing squad, and three by nitrogen hypoxia — a controversial new method involving the inhalation of pure nitrogen gas, which causes death by suffocation. The use of nitrogen gas as a method of capital punishment has been condemned by United Nations human rights experts, who describe it as cruel and inhumane.
While some states continue to actively carry out death sentences, the national trend reflects growing opposition. The death penalty has been abolished in 23 states, while three others — California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania — have imposed official moratoriums on executions.
Despite this, capital punishment retains strong support among some political figures. Former US President Donald Trump has consistently advocated for its expansion, and on his first day in office, called for broader use of the death penalty for what he termed “the vilest crimes.”
AFP
