Florida Execution
Florida executes man who confessed to killing girlfriend's infant and disposing of the body.
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Andrew Richard Lukehart, 53, was executed at Florida State Prison in Starke on June 2, 2026, pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. after a lethal injection, according to Associated Press. He had confessed to killing his girlfriend's five-month-old daughter, Gabrielle Hanshaw, in 1996 — dropping her on her head, shaking her, and throwing her body into a retention pond in Clay County.
Lukehart spent 29 years on death row before his execution, which came just 29 days after Governor Ron DeSantis signed his death warrant on May 4, 2026. He is the eighth person Florida has executed in 2026, according to WBAL-TV.
A Baby Killed and a 30-Year Road to Justice
On February 25, 1996, five-month-old Gabrielle Hanshaw was reported missing from her Jacksonville home. Lukehart initially told police she had been kidnapped by a man in a blue SUV, according to News4JAX. The next day, after a car accident led to his arrest, he confessed to the killing.
A jury convicted Lukehart of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse on April 4, 1997. Judge William A. Wilkes sentenced him to death. The Florida Supreme Court upheld the sentence in 2000. Lukehart then spent more than two decades filing appeals before his final options ran out in 2026.
Final Hours: Supreme Court Denial, Then Death
At 5:30 p.m. on June 2, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Lukehart's last petition for a stay of execution. Thirty minutes later, the execution protocol began. His legal team had argued until the end that he suffered from advanced chronic kidney disease, which they said could make lethal injection torturous, according to WBAL-TV.
In court filings, defense attorneys wrote that proceeding "risks a torturous and unconstitutional death" for their client. The courts rejected that argument. Gabrielle's mother, Misty Rhue, said after the warrant was signed that the "waiting was finally over" for her daughter, according to News4JAX.
Florida's Execution Surge Under DeSantis Breaks Records
Florida carried out 19 executions in 2025 — the most in any single year since the death penalty was reinstated nationally in 1976, according to WBAL-TV. Lukehart's death is the eighth execution in the first five months of 2026 alone. At least two more are scheduled for the summer, including Dusty Ray Spencer on June 25.
Governor DeSantis's office said that "justice for the most vulnerable among us is a core duty of the state." Legal analysts note the 29-day window between warrant signing and execution is part of a deliberate strategy to limit last-minute appeals. The rejection of Lukehart's medical claim now sets a high bar for future inmates challenging lethal injection on health grounds.
Protesters Outside Prison, Mixed Reactions in Jacksonville
Advocates from the Catholic Mobilizing Network protested outside Florida State Prison on the evening of the execution. They argued that the 30-year gap between the crime and punishment, followed by a fast-tracked execution warrant, amounted to cruel and unusual treatment, according to the Catholic Mobilizing Network.
In Jacksonville, where the crime took place, public reaction leaned toward support for the execution, according to News4JAX. The case involved a child victim and a betrayal of trust — factors that historically draw strong support for capital punishment in local communities. Lukehart had also had a prior conviction for child abuse before the 1996 killing.
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