STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of stabbing a woman to death during a home invasion robbery more than 30 years ago is scheduled to be executed Tuesday evening in Florida.
Mark Allen Geralds, 58, is set to receive a lethal injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Geralds was convicted of murder, armed robbery, burglary, and stealing a car and was sentenced to death in 1990. The Florida Supreme Court later vacated the sentence but affirmed the conviction, and Geralds was resentenced to death in 1992.
This will be Florida’s 18th death sentence carried out in 2025, further extending the state record for total executions in a single year.
Tressa Pettibone’s 8-year-old son discovered his mother beaten and stabbed to death on the kitchen floor of their Panama City home in February 1989. Geralds was a carpenter who had previously done remodeling work at the home.
Geared up for the execution, investigators uncovered that Geralds had pawned jewelry with traces of Pettibone’s blood and plastic ties used to bind her matched those found in Geralds’ car.
After a death warrant was signed last month and his execution date set, Geralds informed a judge that he did not wish to pursue any further appeals. The judge confirmed this decision.
A total of 44 men have been executed in the U.S. so far this year. Florida has executed more people than any other state this year. Another execution is scheduled for next week under death warrants signed by Governor Ron DeSantis.
Florida’s lethal injections are conducted using a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug that stops the heart, according to the state Department of Corrections.
