Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — Florida is set to become the first state in nearly a decade to carry out two executions on a single day, scheduling lethal injections for Tuesday that involve an ex-police officer and an octogenarian inmate. The planned deaths occur 18 months after Republican Governor Ron DeSantis began increasing the frequency of capital punishments at rates unseen in modern Florida history.
Historic Schedule and Legal Context
The first execution involves James Aren Duckett, 68, who is scheduled to die by lethal injection at noon at the Florida State Prison near Starke. Duckett was convicted of raping and drowning an 11-year-old girl in 1987 while working as a police officer in central Florida. He will be followed later that day by Dominick Anthony Occhicone, 80, who was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 1986.
If carried out, these sentences would mark the first time since May 12, 1964, that Florida has executed multiple inmates on one day. The most recent instance of a single state performing two executions occurred in Arkansas in April 2017. Both men had their appeals denied by the Florida Supreme Court last week and still have pending cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
DeSantis Administration’s Execution Record
Governor DeSantis, who leaves office in January, oversaw a record 19 executions in 2025, surpassing any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated nationally in 1976. The previous state high of eight executions occurred in 2014. If Tuesday’s events proceed, DeSantis will have overseen 31 executions during his final two years, compared to just nine in the first six years of his administration.
The scheduling followed a complex legal timeline for Duckett. After an initial stay by state judges allowed for DNA testing that returned inconclusive results, the Florida Supreme Court removed the stay on July 8. DeSantis subsequently signed a new death warrant and added Duckett to Occhicone’s existing execution date.
Debate Over Capital Punishment
The decision has drawn criticism from advocacy groups such as Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, which described July 28 as an "unprecedented escalation" of capital punishment. Occhicone’s attorneys argued that his age-related health issues could make the procedure constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
DeSantis has previously stated his goal is delivering justice to victims' families who have waited decades for resolution, noting at a November 2025 news conference that "justice delayed is justice denied." Occhicone would become Florida’s oldest executed inmate in modern history and the second-oldest known prisoner put to death in U.S. history since Walter Moody Jr. was executed in Alabama in 2018.
