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5h ago

Florida Carries Out Rare Double Execution

The back-to-back lethal injections deepen scrutiny of Florida’s rapid execution pace by exposing recent court denials plus contested DNA and health claims.

James Duckett, left, and Dominick Occhicone were both convicted by juries, and appellate courts have denied multiple attempts to overturn their death sentences – although Duckett has maintained his innocence.
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FILE - Clouds hover over the entrance of the Florida State Prison in Starke, Fla., Aug. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Curt Anderson, file)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has said his administration is pursuing justice for victims' families as the state's pace of executions increases.

Overview

  • Florida executed James Aren Duckett at 1:19 p.m. and Dominick Anthony Occhicone at 6:13 p.m. on Tuesday, completing the state’s first same-day double execution since 1964.
  • The U.S. Supreme Court denied last-minute requests for stays for both men, clearing the way for the two lethal injections to proceed on the scheduled day.
  • Duckett’s March execution was stayed to allow new DNA testing that returned inconclusive results and the Florida Supreme Court later lifted the stay, after which a new death warrant was signed.
  • Occhicone, age 80, had argued that his advanced age and medical conditions could make execution cruel and unusual; courts rejected those appeals and he became the oldest person executed in Florida’s modern records.
  • The double execution intensifies debate over Governor Ron DeSantis’s accelerated use of capital punishment, raises operational and transparency concerns for prison staff, and shifts the national profile by making Florida a dominant source of U.S. executions since 2025.