LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) – Polk Sheriff Grady Judd recalls several horrifying murders that shook Mulberry in 1990. Years later, he traveled to the Florida State prison in Bradford County to observe the execution of 63-year-old David Pittman.
A jury found Pittman guilty and sentenced him to death in 1991 for murdering his wife’s parents, Clarence and Barbara Knowles. He also took the life of his wife’s sister, Bonnie, and subsequently set their house ablaze.
Prosecutors said the three were killed during the time the couple was going through a divorce and Pittman threatened to harm her loved ones.
John Stewart, a volunteer with Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, had hoped that Gov. Ron DeSantis would refrain from authorizing a death warrant due to allegations of Pittman’s intellectual disabilities.
“He has intellectual disabilities. Executing him is illegal. The governor wants to proceed anyway. This is a man who has a hard time reading the word ‘dog’,” Stewart stated.
The Eighth Amendment prevents the execution of individuals with severe mental illnesses. Recent appeals by Pittman’s attorney claim he has a low IQ, but the Florida Supreme Court decided such claims can’t be applied retroactively. Last week, the United States Supreme Court also refused to halt the execution.
During a visit to Tampa on Wednesday, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier explained why the state is moving forward.
“We recommend these cases where there is no legal impediment, where a court of competent jurisdiction has ultimately determined the death penalty is the appropriate sentence. We in law enforcement, we enforce the rule of law,” Uthmeier remarked.
Florida is set to execute two more people this year, including Plant City’s Samuel Smithers, the so-called “Deacon of Death” for killing two women in 1996.
Currently, in the state, The Death Penalty Information Center said there are about 270 people on death row.
Relatives of victims could not be reached, and Pittman’s attorney has not responded to our request for comment.
For more information about FADP’s stance on Pittman, click here.
