Ron McAndrew grew up in rural Gaston County, NC. After serving in the USAF four and one half years (France & Belgium Congo), he was discharged in France in 1960. Ron then lived and worked for a private French firm in France, the Middle East, the Far East and SE Asia, returning to the USA in 1978.
Arriving in Florida that year he was hired as a bottom-rung correctional officer and over the next 10 years climbed through all of the uniform and investigative ranks to the position of warden.
It was at Florida State Prison in 1996 that Ron first experienced what he now refers to as the premeditated, ceremonial killing of another human being. After executing John Earl Bush, John Mills Jr. and Pedro Medina, the gruesomeness of these killings prompted the warden to search his soul.
The flames that consumed Pedro Medina's head when the execution went seriously awry, the smoke, the putrid odor and this death by inferno was deeply ingrained. The memory of telling the executioner to continue with the killing, despite the malfunctioning electric chair, and being at a point of no-return, still plagues Ron. (Following the Medina Execution, Ron Shadowed 5 lethal killings by Injections in Huntsville, Texas, thus gathering training for a new way of killing in Florida.)*
*The above excerpt is taken from Ron McAndrew's biography, found at his website. Go to the following link to read the entire biography: https://www.ronmcandrew.com/attorneys
The above video link provides a brief look, in Mr. McAndrew's own words, of how he went from being a warden to an abolitionist against the death penalty.
On December 12, 2022 I sat down with Ron McAndrew to talk with him about his witnessing experiences and his journey toward death penalty abolition.