Florida executed a 58-year-old man Tuesday for the 1989 murder of a Panama City mother during a home invasion, marking the state’s 18th execution of the year, a new record.
Mark Geralds was put to death by lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Raiford and pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. EST. Geralds had waived his right to appeal after Governor Ron DeSantis issued his death warrant last month, making him one of the relatively rare execution volunteers. His waiver came after years of litigation during which he alleged prosecutorial misconduct, including ineffective legal counsel.
Originally convicted and sentenced to death in 1990, Geralds’ sentence was vacated by the Florida Supreme Court but reinstated in 1993. Advocates for death penalty reform criticized the execution, citing unresolved issues in the case such as suppressed evidence, untested forensics, overlooked mental health concerns, and a lack of a meaningful attorney-client relationship.
Geralds was convicted of killing 33-year-old Tressa Lynn Pettibone on Feb. 1, 1989. Court documents indicate he had previously done remodeling work at the Pettibone home and had spoken with Pettibone and her children at a shopping mall days before the murder. Pettibone’s 8-year-old son discovered her body at home, showing multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma, with her wrists bound in plastic ties.
Evidence presented at trial included stolen items such as jewelry, red Bucci sunglasses, and a Mercedes, as well as circumstantial evidence linking Geralds to the crime, including a blood-stained necklace he pawned and a plastic tie recovered from his car.
Tuesday’s execution sets a new annual record for Florida, surpassing the previous high of eight executions in 2014. Nationally, 44 executions have occurred in the U.S. this year, with at least three more scheduled. Geralds’ case adds to the roughly 10% of all executions since 1976 carried out on volunteers who waived their appeals.