Florida has scheduled a November 20, 2025 execution for Richard 'Malik' Randolph, a Black Army Veteran, who was sentenced to death for the 1988 murder of Minnie McCollum. This is the third warrant in a row signed for a veteran and the 17th of 2025.

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Call Gov. DeSantis at 850-717-9337 with the following message:

"Hi. My name is [your name]. I am calling to urge Gov. DeSantis to STOP THE KILLING SPREE! For a Governor who proclaims to be "pro-life" and someone who supports the military, his actions could not be more backwards. Florida has already executed 5 veterans this year - if both November executions go through, that would bring the total to 7 just in Florida. What a betrayal it is for the State of Florida to turn its back on the very people who served our country. TURN BACK FLORIDA! It does NOT have to be this way."

IF THE EXECUTION PROCEEDS, JOIN THE VIRTUAL VIGIL BEGINNING AT 5PM ET ON 11/20.

U.S. Army veteran Richard “Malik” Randolph (Malik Abdul-Sajjad) is scheduled to be executed in Florida on November 20, 2025, for the 1988 murder of Minnie Ruth McCollum. He has spent more than 30 years on death row.
If carried out, it will be Florida’s 17th execution this year — the most in any single year in two centuries. Governor Ron DeSantis has presided over more executions than any Florida governor in modern history.

A Childhood of Abuse and Neglect
Adopted as an infant, Malik grew up in what one psychologist later called “a house of chaos and cruelty.” He was beaten, locked in closets, and told he was worthless. By age ten, he had been medicated for emotional disturbance — early evidence of severe trauma that was never treated.

Seeking belonging, Malik joined the U.S. Army, where he served honorably. But unhealed trauma resurfaced; isolation and anxiety led to substance use. Addiction experts later testified that his dependency was a disease, not a moral failure — and that it fueled the tragedy that followed.

A Broken Trial
At sentencing, the jury heard only a fraction of Malik’s story. His lawyer called a single witness with no access to records or family background. The jury voted 8–4 for death — a bare majority that would mean life in any other state. Decades later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Florida’s non-unanimous system unconstitutional, but too late for Malik.

New Evidence and a Frozen Clemency Process
For nearly sixty years, Malik believed he’d been abandoned. In 2022, newly released adoption records revealed that his birth mother, Wanda Branch Kelly, had searched for him all her life. No court has ever reviewed this or other new evidence of his transformation and health decline.
Despite his spotless prison record and serious medical conditions, Governor DeSantis denied clemency without reviewing any of it.

Faith, Transformation, and the Question of Mercy
Now 63, Malik has spent three decades living peacefully on death row, mentoring others and practicing Islam. Experts agree he poses no threat and could safely serve a life sentence.
His case exposes everything broken in Florida’s death-penalty system — abuse ignored, trauma untreated, mercy denied.
Executing Malik would not bring justice. It would only continue the pattern of abandonment that has defined his life.

Case narrative provided by allies at Floridians For Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

While most states have moved away from the death penalty, Florida is accelerating executions at an alarming rate. Each warrant signed underscores the state’s embrace of a punishment that is arbitrary, racially biased, and out of step with evolving standards of decency.

We believe in accountability, but true accountability does not require execution. A sentence of life without the possibility of parole protects society while also recognizing the human capacity for redemption and the role of childhood trauma in shaping adult behavior.

Florida does not need the death penalty to be safe. This execution will not make us safer, it will simply add another act of violence to an already tragic story. Justice does not require death.

Please sign the petition asking Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida State Board of Executive Clemency to do everything within their power to stop this execution, including issuing a stay, and seeking a path to clemency in the case.