A Florida man sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend's infant was executed via lethal injection after thirty years.

A Florida man, Andrew Richard Lukehart, was executed on Tuesday evening for the 1996 murder of his girlfriend’s infant daughter, Gabrielle Hanshaw. The execution took place at Florida State Prison near Starke, where Lukehart, 53, was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m. after receiving a lethal three-drug injection. He had been sentenced to death in 1997 after being convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in connection with the tragic death of the five-month-old girl.

As the execution chamber's curtain lifted at 6 p.m., Lukehart was already secured to a gurney with an IV in place. A priest was present at the foot of the table to offer prayers as the procedure commenced. When asked by a warden if he had any final words, Lukehart looked towards the witnesses and simply said, "I’m sorry." He then quoted a Bible verse, Luke 23:34, which recounts Jesus’ words during his crucifixion, expressing a plea for forgiveness.

Following the administration of the lethal drugs, Lukehart lost consciousness almost immediately. Minutes later, when the warden called his name without receiving a response, a medic was summoned to assess his vital signs. Lukehart was declared dead shortly thereafter. Notably, he declined a last meal and had no visitors prior to his execution, although he did meet with a spiritual adviser, according to Department of Corrections spokesperson Jordan Kirkland.

This execution marked the eighth in Florida for the year, following a record-setting 19 executions in 2025, a year in which Governor Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous record for executions in a single year was eight, set in 2014.

In the case of Gabrielle Hanshaw, Lukehart was responsible for her care in February 1996 while his girlfriend attended to her older daughter. After claiming the baby had been kidnapped, Lukehart later confessed to investigators that he had accidentally caused the infant's death by dropping her and then shaking her. He admitted to panicking and disposing of her body in a pond, where law enforcement later recovered it. The Florida Supreme Court denied his appeals last week, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal on Monday.