STARKE, Fla. — Andrew Richard Lukehart, 53, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Tuesday evening at the Florida State Prison near Starke. Lukehart was convicted in 1997 of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse for the 1995 death of his girlfriend’s 5-month-old daughter, Gabrielle Hanshaw. His execution marks the eighth capital punishment carried out in Florida this year.
Details of the 1995 Crime
Court records indicate that in February 1996, Lukehart was caring for Gabrielle while her mother attended to an older, ill child. Lukehart drove away from their Jacksonville home, leaving the infant behind. Approximately 30 minutes later, he called his girlfriend, instructing her to contact police because the baby had been kidnapped and he was pursuing the kidnapper.
Later that evening, Lukehart was discovered in a neighboring county after his vehicle left the road. During subsequent questioning, he confessed that he had dropped the baby on her head and shaken her. He stated that he panicked and disposed of the body in a nearby pond. Law enforcement officers recovered the child’s remains from the water.
Legal Appeals and State Context
The Florida Supreme Court denied Lukehart’s final appeals last week. His legal team had argued that his kidney disease medication could interact negatively with the lethal injection drugs. They also contended that the one-month interval between the signing of his death warrant and the execution deprived him of due process. The U.S. Supreme Court denied his final appeal on Monday.
This execution follows a record 19 executions in Florida during 2025, overseen by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. The previous state record was eight executions in 2014. Nationally, 47 people were executed in 2025, with Florida leading the country in death warrants signed by DeSantis. Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas each recorded five executions that year.
Upcoming Executions
Florida’s Department of Corrections states that all executions are performed via a three-drug protocol involving a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug to stop the heart. Another execution is planned in Florida later this month for Dusty Ray Spencer, 74, who was convicted of fatally stabbing his wife in 1992.
