Florida Executes Mark Allen Geralds for 1989 Home Invasion Murder, Setting New State Execution Record

Florida has carried out the execution of Mark Allen Geralds, a 58-year-old man convicted of murdering a woman during a home invasion in 1989.

Geralds was pronounced dead at 6:15 pm on Tuesday following the administration of a three-drug lethal injection at Florida State Prison. He was executed for the February 1989 murder of Tressa Pettibone. This execution marked Florida's 18th this year, extending the state's record for the highest number of executions in a single year.

Before his execution, Geralds addressed someone whose name was not clearly audible, saying, "I'm sorry that I missed you," followed by "I loved you every day." Once the lethal drugs began flowing, he took approximately a dozen deep breaths before his body quivered and twitched. Within minutes, he became motionless.

According to court records, the crime occurred on February 1, 1989, when Pettibone was attacked in her home. Her 8-year-old son discovered her body fatally stabbed on the kitchen floor of their Panama City residence when he returned from school. Geralds had previously worked as a carpenter doing remodeling work at the victim's home about a year prior to the murder.

Evidence showed that about a week before the killing, Geralds encountered Pettibone and her children at a shopping mall, where Pettibone mentioned her husband was away on business. Geralds later approached her son at a video arcade, inquiring about the father's return and the children's daily school schedules.

Investigators discovered that on the day of the attack, Geralds had pawned jewelry with traces of Pettibone's blood. Additionally, plastic ties used to bind the victim matched ties found in Geralds' car.

In 1990, Geralds was convicted of murder, armed robbery, and other charges, receiving a death sentence. Although the Florida Supreme Court later vacated the sentence while affirming the conviction, he was resentenced to death in 1992.

Following the signing of his death warrant last month, Geralds informed a judge that he did not wish to pursue any further appeals, a decision the judge approved.

Including Geralds' execution, 45 people have been executed in the United States this year. Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, Florida's previous highest annual total was eight executions in 2014. Florida has executed more individuals than any other state this year.

Another execution is scheduled for December 18, when Frank Athen Walls, 58, is set to become Florida's 19th execution of the year. Walls was convicted of fatally shooting two people during a home invasion robbery and later confessed to three additional killings.

Florida executions are conducted by lethal injection using a three-drug combination: a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug that stops the heart.