A death row inmate who brutally raped and killed his former manager has been executed after more than 37 years in prison.<\/p>\n
Richard Barry Randolph, 63, was sentenced to death in 1989 after he was convicted of murdering 62-year-old Minnie Ruth McCollum after brutally sexually assaulting her.<\/p>\n
Randolph, who was 27-years-old at the time of the horrific crime, had attempted to break into Handy Way Convenience Store in Palatka, Florida, where he had previously worked under Ms McCollum\u2019s supervision.<\/p>\n
Sign up to The Nightly’s newsletters.<\/p>\n
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.<\/p>\n
By continuing you agree to our Terms<\/a> and Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n During the August 1988 attack, Randolph beat, strangled, stabbed and raped Ms McCollum before stealing her car and fleeing the scene.<\/p>\n Three women who watched Randolph leave the shop and saw the interior had been disturbed then called police.<\/p>\n An officer found Ms McCollum severely injured, but still alive. She was rushed to hospital but sadly died six days later from brain injuries sustained in the attack.<\/p>\n After spending nearly 40 years behind bars, Randolph\u2019s execution was finally scheduled for November 20 at 6pm local time.<\/p>\n All death row inmates are typically given the opportunity to share final words before receiving the lethal injection at Florida\u2019s department of corrections.<\/p>\n Randolph opted to remain completely silent. At 6.12pm he was declared dead.<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s lethal injections involve the use of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug which stops the heart.<\/p>\n Randolph is the 17th person to be executed on death row in Florida this year, more than doubling the state\u2019s previous record of eight executions in one year, which was set in 2014.<\/p>\n An appeal was submitted to Florida\u2019s supreme court in which Randolph argued that a lower court had abused its discretion when it denied him access to public records. He also argued that his own lawyers had acted without his consent.<\/p>\n