David Joseph Pittman, a 63 year old murderer who has been on death row since 1991, was executed on Wednesday, marking the 12th execution this year in Florida under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis – a record number.
Pittman was put to death by lethal injection just after 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday at the Florida State Prison near Starke, following a death warrant signed by DeSantis. The Republican governor has signed more death warrants this year than any of his predecessors.
Despite facing execution for a triple murder, Pittman maintained his innocence, claiming he was not responsible for the crimes. The news emerges as a report shows these victim’s family’s three words after waiting more than 30 years for killer to be executed.
“I know you all came to watch an innocent man be murdered by the state of Florida. I am innocent. I didn’t kill anybody. That’s it,” according to a statement from DeSantis’ office, reports the Mirror US.
In 1990, Pittman was convicted of murdering three people in Mulberry, east of Tampa, and setting their house ablaze. Last week, he appealed to the Supreme Court, requesting a stay of execution and a hearing on the legality of his sentence due to his intellectual disability.
Alex Lanfranconi, a spokesperson for DeSantis, confirmed that the execution was carried out without complications.
As the lethal drugs were administered, Pittman took several deep breaths before falling silent.
Advocacy group Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty meanwhile urged DeSantis to halt the execution, contending that the state was responding to violence with additional violence. “The death penalty is punishment-as-spectacle, rooted in retribution and hatred. It does not make us safer. It does not deliver justice. It does not prevent future harm. Instead, it normalizes violence, fuels cycles of hate, and deepens our collective wounds,” the organisation stated in an email last week.
The remains of a Mulberry couple and their daughter, 21, were discovered stabbed to death and subsequently burnt in their residence on May 15, 1990. Investigators concluded the blaze was “highly suspicious,” having devastated the interior of the property and created a massive fire with flames soaring up to 25 feet, according to witnesses.
Pittman and his spouse, Marie, were experiencing a bitter divorce in May 1990, when the murders took place, and investigators say he had repeatedly threatened to harm her relatives.
Court testimony revealed Pittman severed a telephone line at the Mulberry, Florida, residence of his wife’s parents, Clarence Knowles, 60, and his wife, 50 year old Barbara Knowles. Pittman fatally stabbed the couple along with their other daughter, 21 year old Bonnie Knowles.
Pittman subsequently torched their house and stole Bonnie Knowles’ vehicle, which he also set alight. The family was discovered dead on May 15 of that year.
The following year, he was sentenced to death on three counts of first-degree murder, as well as grand theft and arson.
Pittman’s final appeal was dismissed on Tuesday by the U.S. Supreme Court. On Wednesday, he woke up at 5:45 a.m. and later in the day dined on a meal of steak, chicken and biscuits, according to corrections officials.
There was no information available regarding whether he had any visitors as the execution time drew near.
Currently, two more executions are scheduled for this autumn in Florida. Victor Tony Jones is due to be executed on 30 September for the 1990 murders of two individuals during a robbery, while Samuel Lee Smithers is set for execution on 14 October for the 1996 murders of two women.
