USA: Two executions in Florida and Tennessee frame World Human Rights Day

December 10 is International Human Rights Day because the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948. In the USA, one man was executed on the day before and one on the day after Remembrance Day.

Florida: Mark Allen Geralds

On Tuesday evening, 58-year-old Mark Allen Geralds was executed by lethal injection in the US state of Florida. He was sentenced to death for the murder of a 33-year-old mother of two in the course of a robbery in her home. The then eight-year-old son found his mother stabbed to death after coming home from school.

It was the 18th execution in Florida this year since Governor Ron DeSantis has been carrying out two death sentences a month. Geralds, who had been fighting his conviction/death sentence for decades, refrained from taking further legal action in the last four weeks after DeSantis signed his execution order.

The organization “Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty” (FADP) explained in a statement: “Month after month, Mark saw his neighbors in cell row being told they had 30 days or less to live. He saw them being taken out of their cells by a team of guards. He saw them being led to death row at Florida State Prison, never to return. Against this backdrop, Mark … lost the will to fight.

After decades of challenging the legality of his conviction and sentence and uncovering evidence that the State had concealed and withheld from his jury, Mark waived his remaining appeal options without further DNA analysis and asked to die.” The State of Florida willingly took advantage of Gerald’s desperation to execute him.

Further, FADP states, “Mark was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. However, at his waiver hearing, his mental condition was barely discussed. No updated psychological evaluation was requested or conducted. His state criminal defense attorneys had spoken with him only briefly that day … and had no meaningful opportunity to establish a relationship with him, review his medical records, build trust, or assess his ability to make a reasonable decision.”

Gerald’s case raised even deeper unresolved questions: “Forensic evidence collected from the victim’s apartment did not match Mark, including blood, fingerprints and hair, although there were clear signs of a struggle in several rooms and indications that the suspect had handled household items. The victim’s vehicle was moved.

A bloody handkerchief found in the apartment did not match the victim’s blood type or Mark’s. No further DNA analysis was conducted to identify the unknown individuals.” What is clear is that Gerald’s jury never saw the whole picture and that the courts never addressed the questionable facts.

Tennessee: Harold Wayne Nichols

On Thursday morning, 64-year-old Harold Wayne Nichols was executed by lethal injection by the US state of Tennessee. He was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a 20-year-old woman in 1988. He was also responsible for 12 other rapes or attempted rapes within a few months, for which he received a prison sentence of 200 years.

After his arrest, a clinical psychologist diagnosed Nichols with intermittent explosive disorder, characterized by repeated, sudden bouts of impulsive, aggressive, violent behavior or angry verbal outbursts, largely stemming from his childhood.

Nichols’ mother died of cancer when he was 10 years old, and his father was a “mean, abusive and downright despicable man,” according to a federal judge’s order. Nichols and his sister suffered repeated physical abuse at the hands of their father, according to court records. The children were eventually placed in an orphanage run by their church and suffered abuse at the hands of their foster parents.

Nichols’ attorneys stated that through years of hard work on himself and overcoming his own trauma and the suffering he had inflicted on others, their client had, against all odds, become a trustworthy, responsible and compassionate person who was highly respected and loved by many. “He turned into the man the victim’s mother had challenged him to be 35 years ago.”

On the day he was sentenced to death, the victim’s mother had asked to speak to Nichols alone – two more visits to the prison followed. She gave him a Bible with a dedication in which she offered him prayers for his salvation. She told him: “I forgive you because I don’t want to carry this burden around with me. My daughter wouldn’t want that.” She told him he could prove he deserved forgiveness by turning his life around.

Nichols’ lawyers, as well as prison staff and other people who worked with Nichols in prison, confirm that he took the message to heart. Still, Tennessee and its governor knew neither mercy nor compassion. Even the fact that half of the jurors today would not vote again for the death sentence in Nichols’ case did not matter to the decision-makers.

Sources:
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/12/09/mark-geralds-florida-execution-tressa-pettibone/87692268007/
https://www.fadp.org/statement-on-the-execution-of-mark-allen-geralds/
https://eu.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2025/12/11/tennessee-harold-wayne-nichols-death-row-inmate-execution/87374907007/
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/12/11/tennessee-execution-harold-wayne-nichols/87709714007/