In brief
Mark Allen Geralds, 58, is poised to be executed on Tuesday for the 1989 murder of Tressa Pettibone, which occurred during a home invasion robbery. Geralds was sentenced to death in 1990, and after his conviction was upheld, he faces lethal injection at Florida State Prison. His execution will contribute to what is already a record number of executions in Florida in 2025.
STARKE, Fla. — A man convicted of stabbing a woman to death during a home invasion robbery more than 30 years ago is set to be executed Tuesday evening in Florida.
Mark Allen Geralds, 58, is expected to receive a lethal injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Geralds was convicted of murder, armed robbery, burglary, and car theft in the case involving Tressa Pettibone, who was found beaten and stabbed in her Panama City home in February 1989.
Geralds, who worked as a carpenter, was initially sentenced to death in 1990. Although the Florida Supreme Court vacated the sentence, they upheld the conviction, leading to his resentencing to death in 1992.
This execution is set to be the 18th carried out in Florida in 2025, setting a new state record for total executions in a year. Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, Florida's highest execution count was previously eight in 2014.
Investigators linked Geralds to the crime scene through jewelry belonging to Pettibone found in his possession, and he had also displayed suspicious behavior leading up to the incident.
After his execution date was confirmed, Geralds chose not to pursue further legal appeals. Following his execution, Frank Athen Walls is scheduled for December 18, marking Florida's continued reliance on capital punishment under Governor Ron DeSantis's administration.
