Florida: Richard Randolph executed – birth mother finds son on death row 60 years after adoption

On Thursday evening, 63-year-old Richard Barry Randolph was executed by lethal injection in the US state of Florida. He was sentenced to death for raping and killing a 62-year-old woman during a burglary in 1988 at the age of 27.

Randolph was adopted, his biological mother – 17 years young at the time – had been forced by her family to give up her son for adoption. But contrary to the mother’s assumption, she had not helped him to a better life.

“His adoptive father beat him with belts, broomsticks and fists and sometimes locked him in dark cupboards for days on end. His adoptive mother struggled with alcoholism and severe mental illness; she told him he was worthless. The message he internalized was simple: he was unwanted and didn’t matter,” explains the organization Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP).

After his time in the military, he began taking drugs, which ultimately led to his crime. On death row, Randolph converted to Islam and from then on called himself Malik Abdul-Sajjad.

“He has spent more than three decades studying his faith, mentoring younger men on death row, mediating conflicts and maintaining a spotless disciplinary record. He has built and maintained loving relationships with his families – both his biological and adoptive families,” FADP said.

The birth mother had searched for her son for decades – only to find him on death row 60 years after adopting him.

Sources:
https://apnews.com/article/florida-execution-richard-barry-randolph-84cf20dc6eab1eeccba87eadec81e3a8
https://www.fadp.org/statement-on-the-execution-of-richard-barry-randolph-malik-abdul-sajjad/
https://theintercept.com/2025/11/20/malik-abdul-sajjad-richard-randolph-florida-executions-desantis/