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.