Stay the Execution of Mark Allen Geralds
Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Board of Executive Clemency
Governor Ron DeSantis has scheduled the execution of Mark Allen Geralds for December 9, 2025 — during the deadliest execution year in modern Florida history. Seventeen people have already been executed this year, and not one has received a stay. In this climate, Mr. Geralds waived his remaining appeals after his warrant was signed, leaving him with no legal review of the serious constitutional problems in his case.
The murder of Tressa Pettibone was a devastating crime. But even from the start, the evidence raised unanswered questions. Blood, fingerprints, and hair from the scene did not match Mr. Geralds. A bloody handkerchief left inside the home matched neither the victim nor Mr. Geralds, and no DNA testing has ever been conducted. Key FDLE notes and investigative records pointing to other suspects were never disclosed and surfaced only years later.
The jury never heard any of this because defense counsel presented no defense case at all — no witnesses, no experts, no forensic challenge, and no mental-health evidence. Decades ago, courts accepted Mr. Geralds’ diagnosis of bipolar manic disorder as valid mitigation. Yet at his rushed waiver hearing this month, that diagnosis was barely mentioned, and no updated evaluation was done.
Florida’s execution pace is breaking people down faster than the courts can review their cases. Suppressed evidence, untested forensics, and a nonexistent defense case demand real scrutiny — not an execution. We urge Governor DeSantis and the Florida Board of Executive Clemency to grant a stay so these unresolved issues can finally be reviewed.
Sponsored by
To:
Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Board of Executive Clemency
From:
[Your Name]
We stand together to urge you to stop the execution of Mark Allen Geralds, scheduled for December 9, 2025.
Mr. Geralds was just 22 years old at the time of the crime and has spent more than 35 years on Florida’s death row. His case has long been marked by serious concerns about suppressed evidence, untested forensics, and ineffective counsel — issues that have never been fully reviewed. Blood, fingerprints, and hair recovered from the scene did not match Mr. Geralds, and a bloody handkerchief found inside the home matched neither the victim nor Mr. Geralds. Key investigative records pointing to other viable suspects were never disclosed and surfaced only decades later. Yet the jury heard none of this because defense counsel presented no defense case at all.
The system has only deteriorated since then. This year alone, Florida has carried out seventeen executions without a single stay — the deadliest execution year in modern state history. In this climate, Mr. Geralds waived his remaining appeals after his warrant was signed, leaving him without any avenue to address the profound constitutional defects in his case. A rushed waiver hearing, in which his longstanding bipolar disorder received only passing mention and no updated evaluation was conducted, cannot substitute for meaningful review.
Florida’s death penalty system has become a moral and constitutional disaster. Continuing down this path serves no purpose but vengeance.
Please grant clemency and a stay of execution for Mark Allen Geralds. We call on you to end this cycle of state-sanctioned violence and to uphold the dignity and humanity that justice demands.
Not in our name.