The Florida Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision on July 2, 2026, rejecting a successive postconviction appeal from death row inmate Richard Wallace Rhodes. Rhodes was convicted of the 1984 manual strangulation of Karen Nieradka.

Background of the Case

Rhodes had petitioned the court for a new trial, claiming that key jailhouse informants had lied during his original trial under pressure and inducement from law enforcement. The high court fully affirmed a lower court’s denial of relief, ruling that the sudden recantations by the former jailhouse witnesses lacked credibility.

The underlying case dates back to March 2, 1984, when a Florida Highway Patrol officer stopped Rhodes for driving a car registered to Nieradka. Weeks later, on March 24, Nieradka’s decomposing body was discovered in construction debris in St. Petersburg, originating from a Clearwater hotel demolished on March 15.

Appeal and Ruling

Rhodes’s latest appeal rested entirely on 2023 affidavits from two fellow inmates, who claimed they were coached and manipulated by law enforcement to testify against Rhodes. However, the Supreme Court of Florida emphasized that witness recantations are “exceedingly unreliable” as a general matter.

The court also highlighted the lack of explanation for why the witnesses waited nearly 40 years to come forward and the presence of overwhelming physical and circumstantial evidence against Rhodes. The trial record shows Nieradka was last seen alive with Rhodes, he was caught driving her car with a forged permission note, and he gave his then-girlfriend items later identified as belonging to the victim.

Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.