David Joseph execution-of-polk-county-triple-murderer-david-pittman/” title=”Sheriff Grady Judd To Witness … Of … Triple … – Tampa”>Pittman Executed in Florida: A 35-Year Case Closes withโค Claims of innocence
Starke, FL – David Joseph Pittman, convicted of the brutal 1990 murders of โฃhis estrangedโฃ wife’s family in Mulberry, Florida, was โexecuted by lethal injection at 6:00 PMโ on September 17th atโ Florida State Prison. Theโฃ execution marks theโฃ state’sโค 12th of the year, a record number.
Pittman, 63, was foundโ guilty โin April 1991 of three counts of first-degreeโ murder forโข the โฃdeaths of Clarence and Barbara Knowles, and their daughter, Bonnie. Theโค crimes were especially heinous: Pittman โฃstabbed theโ victims, slit Bonnie Knowles’ throat,โค then set the family home ablaze, attempting to destroy evidence and prevent the โฃvictims โfrom calling for help by cutting the telephone lines. He subsequently stole their daughter’s car,abandoning and โburning itโฃ in a nearby ditch.
Polk Countyโ Sheriff Grady Judd,โฃ a first responder on the scene at the time โas a patrol division major, described the sceneโค as particularly disturbing. “He purchased gasoline to start the fire,” Judd stated,highlighting the premeditation involved in the killings.
The โขmotive behind the murders stemmed from a complex web of personal grievances. Court records reveal Pittman’s wife had served him with divorce papers while he was already incarcerated on an unrelated charge. Further fueling his rage was Bonnie โKnowles’ 1989 allegation that Pittman had raped herโฃ – a case ultimately dropped due to a delay in filing the charges.
(See videoโ above: Reaction to David Joseph โPittman’s execution outside the prison)
Pittman was pronounced โฃdead at 6:12 p.m., according to the Florida Department of Corrections. In his โขfinal moments, he maintained โขhis โขinnocence, stating, “I knowโ you all came toโข watch an innocent man be murdered by the State of โFlorida. I โam innocent. I didn’t kill anybody. that’s it,” as โฃreported byโค WFLA TV News.
The case, spanningโฃ 35 years from the crime to theโ execution, underscores the lengthyโ and complex nature of capital punishment cases. The execution of Davidโฃ Joseph Pittman brings a somberโฃ close to a decades-oldโข tragedy for the Knowles family and raises continued debate surrounding the death penalty and theโ possibility of wrongful convictions.
Keywords: โ David Joseph Pittman, execution, Florida, murder, Polk County, death โpenalty, lethal injection, crime, Florida State Prison, Sheriff Grady Judd, wrongful conviction.
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