On Tuesday, Florida carried out two executions, a rare occurrence in modern U.S. history. The first was an 80-year-old man, making him the second-oldest to be executed via lethal injection in recent times. Earlier that day, the state had executed a former police officer responsible for the murder of a young girl.
Governor’s Influence
Governor Ron DeSantis accelerated the use of the death penalty in Florida, making it one of the busiest states for executions as his term neared its end. He indicated that prolonged delays in justice were unfair to victims’ families. Florida’s nearly back-to-back executions were the first such instance since Arkansas executed two men within three hours in 2017. DeSantis, exercising his authority, set both executions for the same day.
Execution Details
Dominick Anthony Occhicone, the 80-year-old inmate, was executed at 6:13 p.m. at Florida State Prison after a three-drug lethal injection. His death followed the earlier execution of James Aren Duckett, a 68-year-old ex-police officer, who was pronounced dead at 1:19 p.m. The death chamber curtain was raised for the second execution at 6 p.m. Occhicone, strapped to a gurney, expressed remorse in his final statement, apologizing to his family and his victims’ family.
Occhicone had been convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 1986, making him the oldest inmate executed in Florida since records began. Nationwide, only Walter Moody Jr., executed at age 83 in Alabama for a mail bombing spree in 1989, was older.
Impact on the Victims’ Families
Duckett, who was executed earlier in the day, had been convicted of the 1987 rape and murder of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee while serving as a police officer. During his execution, he chose not to make a final statement. Afterward, the victim’s family expressed relief, having waited nearly four decades for justice.
“I waited nearly 40 years to have him dead,” said Dorthy Tula, the victim’s mother, before breaking down. “This man took advantage of his badge,” stated Tracy Mcfall-Buskirk, the girl’s cousin.
Record Execution Numbers
Florida’s execution of 12 inmates so far this year surpasses all other states combined. In the previous year, the state executed 19 prisoners, a record under Governor DeSantis since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the U.S. in 1976.
Another execution is scheduled in Florida for August. Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty have criticized the governor’s decision, labeling the two executions in one day as an unprecedented escalation.
Death Row Dynamics
Governor DeSantis has not publicly explained why he scheduled the two executions so closely. Historical records indicate that Florida frequently performed multiple executions in a single day, with the last instance occurring in 1964.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied last-minute appeals for both inmates on the day of their executions, with the Florida Supreme Court doing so the prior week. Florida uses a combination of a sedative, paralytic, and a fatal drug to conduct executions.