A 63-year-old man in Florida was executed by lethal injection on Wednesday for the murders of his wife’s sister and her parents, authorities confirmed.
David Pittman became the 12th person executed in Florida this year and the 31st in the United States. The execution was carried out at 6:12 pm local time (22:12 GMT) at Florida State Prison.
Pittman was sentenced to death in 1991 for the 1990 murders of:
- Bonnie Knowles, 21, the sister of his estranged wife
- Clarence Knowles, 60, the father
- Barbara Knowles, 50, the mother
The victims were stabbed to death, after which their home was set on fire.
Pittman’s lawyers sought a stay of execution, arguing that he is intellectually disabled with an IQ of 70, but all appeals were denied.
The execution marked the highest number of deaths in the United States this year since 2014, when 35 inmates were executed.
Methods of Execution
| Method | Number of Executions This Year | Notes |
| Lethal injection | 26 | Standard method in most states |
| Firing squad | 2 | Limited use in certain states |
| Nitrogen hypoxia | 3 | Involves pumping nitrogen gas into a mask, causing suffocation; condemned by UN experts as cruel and inhumane |
Florida has carried out the most executions, followed by South Carolina and Texas, with four each.
Death Penalty in the United States
- The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of 50 states.
- California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania currently have moratoriums in place.
- President Donald Trump, a supporter of capital punishment, called for its expanded use for the vilest crimes on his first day in office.
The case underscores ongoing debates over capital punishment, methods of execution, and the treatment of intellectually disabled prisoners in the United States.
