Pedro Medina

Pedro Medina, 39, was executed by the State of Florida in the electric chair at Florida State Prison in Raiford on March 25, 1997. A 2025 Daily Mail account says his family was poor and that, as children, he and his brothers begged tourists for money, which his brother used to buy bread and cheese for them. Ron McAndrew, a former Florida prison official who witnessed the execution, said the chair malfunctioned, smoke and fire came from the equipment, and the execution was still carried through to its end. McAndrew said the botched execution led Florida to switch to lethal injection and changed his view of the death penalty.

Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. Ron McAndrew, a former Florida prison official who witnessed the execution, says the electric chair malfunctioned and flames came from under the helmet.

Reported by: Florida Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); Ron McAndrew, former Florida prison official who witnessed the execution (witnesses).

News reports (2)

• Execution List 1976-present Florida Department of Corrections, Execution Lists 1924-1964 and 1976-present
• The execution that haunts prison worker 28 years later: Death row officer had therapy for a decade after horrific mishap filled cells with the smell of 'burning flesh' Daily Mail, May 3, 2025