Florida executes David Pittman for killing estranged wife's family
- David Pittman was executed by lethal injection on September 17, 2025, at Florida State Prison following his conviction for a triple murder case from 1990.
- He maintained claims of intellectual disability, which were ultimately dismissed by the courts, leading to his execution marking a record 12th this year in Florida.
- This execution has sparked intense discussions about the death penalty, mental health considerations, and the implications of recent trends in capital punishment.
In a significant event in Florida, David Pittman was executed by lethal injection on September 17, 2025, at Florida State Prison. He had been convicted of the brutal 1990 murders of three family members of his estranged wife amid a contentious divorce. Clarence Knowles, aged 60, his wife Barbara, 50, and their 21-year-old daughter Bonnie were killed when Pittman allegedly stabbed them, set their house on fire, and stole Bonnie's car, which he later torched. The crime scene was particularly horrific, with investigators finding the bodies in a home that had been engulfed in flames. Pittman, who was sentenced to death in 1991, maintained his innocence throughout his appeals, claiming that he suffered from intellectual disabilities. His defense team argued that his execution would violate constitutional protections against executing individuals with severe mental impairments. Despite presenting evidence of his low IQ, which they asserted had been evident at the time of the murders, courts consistently rejected his claims. The Florida Supreme Court declined to apply recent rulings regarding intellectual disabilities retroactively, stating that he was not deemed intellectually disabled at the time of his crime or trial. Governor Ron DeSantis has been a notable figure in the context of Florida's death penalty, having signed more death warrants than any previous governor. Pittman's execution marked the 12th in Florida for the year 2025, setting a new record for executions in a single year since the state reinstated capital punishment in 1976. The proceedings drew national attention, especially from anti-capital punishment advocates and groups, who decried the execution as a violation of human rights and called for a reevaluation of the legality and morality of capital punishment as a whole. Pittman was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m., just minutes after the lethal injection was administered. As he faced his fate, he asserted his innocence, stating, "I know you all came to watch an innocent man be murdered by the state of Florida." This statement and the execution itself sparked further discussions on the complexities of the justice system and highlighted the ongoing debates surrounding the death penalty in the United States, particularly in states like Florida which have seen a significant uptick in executions in recent years.