Florida man executed for fatal stabbing of woman and her 4-year-old daughter
Knight became Florida’s seventh execution this year after courts rejected appeals and officials said he confessed to the 2002 killings.
- On Thursday, Florida executed Richard Knight, 47, at Florida State Prison for the murders of Odessia Stephens and her four-year-old daughter, Hanessia Mullings.
- Living in Coral Springs, Knight killed Stephens and her daughter in June 2000 after Stephens told him to move out; he later confessed to a fellow inmate at Broward County Jail.
- The Florida Supreme Court denied Knight's final appeals last Friday. At 6 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, he was pronounced dead following a lethal injection after offering a final statement thanking Yahweh.
- This execution marks Florida's seventh capital punishment case this year, continuing a record pace following 19 executions in 2025 under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
- Another execution is scheduled in Florida on June 2 for Andrew Richard Lukehart. Florida continues to lead the nation in capital punishment, outpacing Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas.
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15 Articles
Double murderer who slaughtered little girl and her mother executed by lethal injection
Richard Knight was executed at Florida State Prison on Thursday for the murders of a pregnant woman and her four year-old daughter back in 2000 (Picture: Florida Department of Corrections) The state of Florida has carried out its seventh execution of the year after a man convicted of murdering a pregnant woman and her young daughter back in 2000 was put to death by lethal injection. 47 year-old Richard Knight was pronounced dead at 6.13pm local …
The state of Florida carried out its 7th execution this year. The death sentence was carried out by lethal injection on a man convicted of double murder.
Florida death row inmate Richard Knight’s final words before he’s executed: ‘I want to give thanks’
A Florida man convicted of fatally stabbing his cousin’s girlfriend and the couple’s 4-year-old daughter was put to death Thursday evening, the seventh person executed by the state this year. Richard Knight, 47, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. following a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke.
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