{"id":1265,"date":"2026-05-21T14:36:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T14:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1265"},"modified":"2026-05-21T14:36:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T14:36:08","slug":"florida-to-execute-man-for-2000-murder-of-a-mother-and-4-year-old-girl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1265","title":{"rendered":"Florida to execute man for 2000 murder of a mother and 4-year-old girl"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1264\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0626b198ae7953c07460255811b90798.webp\" width=\"764\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0626b198ae7953c07460255811b90798.webp 764w, https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0626b198ae7953c07460255811b90798-300x170.webp 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 764px) 100vw, 764px\" \/><\/figure>\n <span>article<\/span><\/div> <div><div><p><span>Richard Knight, 47, is scheduled to receive a three-drug lethal injection Thursday evening at Florida State Prison. Courtesy: Florida Department of Corrections<\/span> <!-- --><\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1262\">Rays\u2019 stadium deal puts nearly $1B in public money on table after county approval<\/a><\/p> <!-- --><\/div><\/div> <!-- --><\/div> <!-- --> <!-- --><p><span><strong>STARKE, Fla.<\/strong> &#8211; <\/span>A man convicted of the stabbing deaths of his cousin&#8217;s girlfriend and a 4-year-old girl is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening at Florida State Prison.\u00a0<\/p> <p>Richard Knight, 47, is slated to receive a three-drug lethal injection starting at 6 p.m. near Starke.\u00a0<\/p> <!-- --><h2><strong>Florida death penalty history<\/strong><\/h2> <!-- --><div><\/div> <!-- --><p>What we know:<\/p> <!-- --><p>Knight was sentenced to death following his 2006 conviction on two counts of first-degree murder for killing Odessia Stephens and her 4-year-old child, Hanessia Mullings. Court records show Knight was living in Coral Springs near Fort Lauderdale with his cousin, Stephens and the young girl in June 2000.\u00a0<\/p> <!-- --><p>Stephens and Knight argued frequently about his living arrangements, and court officials said Knight attacked the mother and child after Stephens told him he had to move out. While held at the Broward County Jail, Knight confessed to the killings to an inmate who later testified against him.\u00a0<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1259\">Man jailed over Charlie Kirk Facebook post wins $835,000 settlement<\/a><\/p> <!-- --><h2><strong>Pending federal court decisions<\/strong><\/h2> <!-- --><p>What we don&#8217;t know:<\/p> <!-- --><p>Officials have not announced whether the U.S. Supreme Court will step in, as a final appeal remains pending before the nation&#8217;s highest court. It is also unclear exactly how long the execution execution protocol will take once the three-drug injection begins at 6 p.m..\u00a0<\/p> <!-- --><h2><strong>Last appeals rejected<\/strong><\/h2> <!-- --><p>The backstory:<\/p> <!-- --><p>The Florida Supreme Court denied Knight&#8217;s legal appeals last Friday. The state&#8217;s highest court turned away his claims regarding a fingerprint found on a knife at the scene, noting that the print was already addressed during his 2006 trial.\u00a0<\/p> <!-- --><p>The justices also rejected challenges targeting the state&#8217;s warrant process and execution protocols. The execution marks the seventh in Florida this year, following a record-setting 19 executions overseen by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2025.\u00a0<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1256\">New Tampa Bay Ferry service moves closer to setting sail with vessel purchase approved<\/a><\/p> <!-- --><h2><strong>National execution numbers<\/strong><\/h2> <!-- --><p>By the numbers:<\/p> <!-- --><ul><li><span><strong>19<\/strong>: The record number of executions carried out by Florida in 2025.\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li><span><strong>47<\/strong>: The total number of people executed across the United States in 2025.\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li><span><strong>5<\/strong>: The number of executions in Alabama, South Carolina and Texas, which tied for second place in 2025.\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul> <!-- --> <!-- --> <!-- --> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A man convicted of the stabbing deaths of his cousin&#8217;s girlfriend and a 4-year-old girl is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening at Florida State Prison.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,25],"tags":[8,26],"class_list":["post-1265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-florida","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-florida"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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