Pedro Medina

Pedro Medina, 39, was executed in the electric chair at Florida State Prison in Raiford on March 25, 1997, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. As children, he and his brothers begged tourists for money, and his brother put what they gathered into a basket and bought bread and cheese for them to eat, a Daily Mail article reports. Ron McAndrew, a former Florida prison official who witnessed the execution, said the chair malfunctioned and smoke and fire came from under the helmet, but the execution was carried through to its end. McAndrew said the botched execution led Florida to move to lethal injection and changed his view of the death penalty. An Orlando Sentinel report says his execution led to objections to electrocution as a criminal punishment.

Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. Former prison official Ron McAndrew, who witnessed the execution, said the chair malfunctioned and flames came from under the helmet.

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

Sources (3)

• Execution List 1976-present Florida Department of Corrections, Execution Lists 1924-1964 and 1976-present
• 25th anniversary of Ted Bundy’s execution, and other infamous Florida criminals put to death Orlando Sentinel, January 24, 2014
• 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