Thirty-three years after his uncle was killed, Brian Kunkel says his family wants Gov. Ron DeSantis to sign the death warrant for the man convicted of the murder. Richard Kunkel, a 32-year-old West Palm Beach florist, was shot and killed in 1993 after he left Roosters nightclub with three men, according to court records.
Court records show Ronald Knight and two other men went to the gay bar looking for a man to lure away, rob and beat. Knight drove Kunkel to a secluded area and shot him, then the men stole his car and burglarized his home. Knight was later convicted of killing Brendan Meehan, 22, who was lured from Heartbreakers on Olive Avenue in May 1995. Knight was sentenced to death in 1998 and remains on death row.
Kunkel said a representative from the Florida Attorney General’s Office recently helped expedite a clemency hearing for Knight, a step that could clear the way for DeSantis to sign a warrant. Kunkel said the family has not yet learned the outcome.
The request comes as Florida carries out executions at a pace rarely seen. The state executed a record 19 people in 2025, and 17 have been put to death so far in 2026, with two more scheduled. Defense attorneys and death penalty opponents have raised concerns about compressed timelines and how the state chooses which cases move forward.
Kunkel said his grandparents died without seeing Knight executed. “It’s time,” he said. “Thirty-three years is a long time.”
