Miami.– The state of Florida executed Andrew Richard Lukehart, 53, this Tuesday, who was convicted for the murder of his then-partner’s five-month-old daughter, a crime that occurred in 1996 in the city of Jacksonville.
The execution was carried out by lethal injection at the Florida State Prison, located in Starke, becoming the eighth one performed by that state so far in 2026.
Lukehart had been found guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse for the death of little Gabrielle Hanshaw. According to court records, the man confessed to having caused fatal injuries to the baby and subsequently threw her body into a pond.
Before the execution, the condemned man offered a brief apology and quoted a biblical passage. Prison authorities reported that he was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m.
We recommend reading: Relatives accuse DICRIM agents of alleged execution of a young man in the 24 de Abril sector
State and federal courts rejected several appeals filed by the defense in recent days to stop the execution, allowing the sentence to be carried out as scheduled.
More Read
Florida remains among the states with the highest number of executions in the United States. In 2025, it recorded 19 executions, the highest figure in decades, and has already totaled eight in the first six months of 2026.
The case has once again placed the application of the death penalty in the United States at the center of the debate, a practice that remains in effect in several states across the country, although it continues to be a subject of controversy between proponents and opponents.
