Florida executed former police officer James Aren Duckett on Tuesday, the first of two planned lethal injections in a single day. Duckett, 68, was convicted of raping and drowning an 11-year-old girl in 1987 while on duty. The execution took place at Florida State Prison near Starke, with Duckett pronounced dead at 1:19 p.m. after a three-drug injection. He declined to make a final statement.
Later that evening, 80-year-old Dominick Anthony Occhicone was scheduled to become the oldest prisoner executed in Florida’s modern history. Occhicone was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 1986. If executed, he would be the second-oldest inmate put to death in U.S. history.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied stays for both inmates, clearing the way for the executions. Florida has significantly increased its execution rate under Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, with 11 inmates executed this year alone. The state has carried out nearly half of all U.S. executions since the beginning of 2025.
Duckett’s attorneys had argued for a stay, claiming innocence and alleging mishandling of DNA evidence. Occhicone’s legal team argued that his age-related health issues could make the execution cruel and unusual punishment. Both men had pending appeals before the Supreme Court.
The dual executions mark the first time a state has carried out back-to-back lethal injections since Arkansas in 2017. Florida’s execution pace is the fastest since the U.S. reinstated the death penalty in 1976.