AI Generated Image
2nd octogenarian faces lethal injection as Florida plans executions
ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos • • nation
Key Points:
- Florida plans to carry out two executions in one day for the first time in nearly 60 years, scheduling lethal injections for James Aren Duckett, 68, and Dominick Anthony Occhicone, 80, on Tuesday.
- Duckett was convicted of raping and drowning an 11-year-old girl in 1987 while working as a police officer, and Occhicone was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 1986; both have had recent appeals denied by the Florida Supreme Court.
- Governor Ron DeSantis has accelerated executions in Florida, overseeing a record 19 in 2025, with these two adding to a total of 31 executions during his final two years in office.
- Occhicone would become Florida's oldest executed inmate in modern history and the second-oldest in the U.S., raising concerns about the ethics of executing elderly prisoners with serious health issues.
- Advocacy groups have called for halting the executions, citing growing opposition to capital punishment in Florida, while DeSantis emphasizes delivering justice for victims' families after decades of delay.
