Florida just set a record by executing the oldest death row inmate in state history, and on Tuesday, it’ll break that record. It will also become the first state in more than a decade to execute two inmates on the same day.
James Duckett, 68, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. Then, just six hours later, Dominick Anthony Occhicone, 80, will become the oldest prisoner to be executed in Florida and the second oldest in the country.
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Duckett is a former police officer who has been on death row for nearly four decades for murdering an 11-year-old girl while on duty in 1987. He has maintained his innocence, despite his conviction.
Occhicone has also been on death row for just as long. He’s convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s parents.
They’re set to become Florida’s 11th and 12th inmates to be executed this year.
Stay of execution denied
Duckett had already been granted one stay in March to allow for DNA testing of old evidence, which couldn’t be done at the time of his arrest and trial because the technology didn’t exist yet. Those results were inconclusive, and his conviction stood.
His lawyers asked for another stay, saying the DNA results were inconclusive because of how the state handled the evidence. It was denied.
The court also denied Occhicone’s attorneys’ request for a stay. They said Occhicone suffers from age-related ailments, which they argue could make his execution especially painful — amounting to cruel and unusual punishment.
Duckett and Occhicone also filed a joint emergency motion to stay their scheduled double execution, arguing carrying out two executions in one day creates a higher likelihood of the procedure being botched. It was also denied.
They have a pending emergency motion filed with the United States Supreme Court.
DeSantis sets record
Florida saw 19 executions last year, a state record since the death penalty in the U.S. was reinstated in 1976. The previous record was eight, set in 2014 under then-Gov. Rick Scott.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ second term is set to end in January, and in his eight years in office, he’s authorized 41 executions. During his first six years in office, nine executions were carried out. If both of Tuesday’s executions are carried out, he’ll have overseen 31 in his final two years in office. Another one is scheduled for August.
At a news conference last year, DeSantis was asked what spurred him to start signing more death warrants. He said his goal is to bring justice to victims’ families who have waited decades for death sentences to be carried out.
“Some of these crimes were committed in the ’80s,” DeSantis said. “Justice delayed is justice denied. I felt I owed it to them to make sure this ran very smoothly. If I honestly thought someone was innocent, I would not pull the trigger.”
The Florida Department of Corrections’ website says there are currently 241 people on death row, including Duckett and Occhicone.
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