Two Executions In Six Hours: Florida Set For Historical Double Execution Tuesday

Florida is preparing to execute two death row inmates on Tuesday, July 28, in an action that would mark the state’s first double execution in more than 60 years.

Former police officer James Duckett, 68, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 12 p.m., followed six hours later by 80-year-old Dominick Occhicone at 6 p.m. If carried out, these will mark the 39th and 40th executions under Gov. Ron DeSantis and the 11th and 12th in the state since the beginning of 2026.

In response, Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) has launched petition and letter-writing efforts asking DeSantis to halt both procedures. The group has organized two public vigils outside Florida State Prison in Raiford, set for 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., contingent on whether stays are issued.

“July 28 represents an unprecedented escalation of Florida’s use of the death penalty,” said Grace Hanna, executive director of FADP. “These are two profoundly different cases, but they point to the same troubling reality: Florida continues to expand the use of capital punishment, despite mounting evidence that it is not what Floridians want. Last year, there were five new death sentences in Florida. Just 15 years ago in 2011, 14 people were sentenced to death. While our state’s leaders accelerate towards executions, Florida juries are continuing to move away from it, even with the lowest juror threshold in the nation needed to impose death.”

Duckett was sentenced to death in Lake County for the 1986 murder of Teresa McAbee, an offense allegedly committed while he was on duty as a police officer. He has maintained his innocence since his arrest nearly four decades ago.

Following an initial death warrant signed in February, defense attorneys sought DNA testing on remaining physical evidence. A lower court granted the request, and the Florida Supreme Court issued a stay. However, the state selected a testing laboratory that did not use whole genome sequencing. The testing process consumed and destroyed the remaining biological sample without producing a usable genetic profile, leaving experts unable to either include or exclude Duckett as a contributor.

After the sample was destroyed, Duckett requested testing on other items. The state opposed the request, and the Florida Supreme Court lifted the stay. DeSantis then set a new execution date under a two-week warrant.

Ralph “Ron” Wright, a former police officer and death row exoneree who serves on the boards of FADP and Witness to Innocence, released a statement on Duckett’s case.

“James Duckett and I share an experience few people ever will: we both served as police officers before becoming defendants in the very system we once trusted,” Wright said. “Wearing a badge gave me faith in the justice system. Being wrongfully sentenced to death forced me to confront its fallibility. Knowing that another former officer now faces execution amidst these serious doubts is a powerful reminder that no profession, no background, and no amount of faith in the system can eliminate the risk of a wrongful conviction.”

Wright added: “My own case taught me that forensic evidence can be misunderstood, overstated, or simply fail to provide the clear answers people expect. Regardless of the reason why the science is inconclusive, the justice system has a responsibility to pursue the truth with greater urgency than it pursues an execution date.”

The Florida Supreme Court denied Duckett’s state appeals on July 24, and his defense team is preparing to petition the U.S. Supreme Court. Duckett also has active federal lawsuits, including one alleging that veins damaged by cancer chemotherapy create an unconstitutional risk during lethal injection.

The second inmate scheduled on July 28, Dominick Occhicone, was convicted in Pasco County for the 1986 murder of Martha Artzner and received a concurrent life sentence for the murder of Raymond Artzner. At age 80, Occhicone would become the oldest person ever executed in Florida and the second-oldest nationwide in the modern era.

Occhicone’s sentence was handed down following a 7-5 jury split. Florida and all other capital punishment states have since revised their laws to require higher jury thresholds to hand down a death sentence.

“Florida plans to execute an 80-year-old man based on a death sentence that would not be imposed anywhere in the country today—including Florida,” Hanna said. “This execution serves no public safety purpose. It is a choice.”

Occhicone’s state appeals were turned down by the Florida Supreme Court on July 21, with his attorneys preparing filings for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Together, Duckett and Occhicone have filed a joint federal lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. The filing seeks to halt the same-day execution schedule, arguing that carrying out two procedures in six hours violates First, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment protections. The suit asserts the timeline restricts access to the courts, risks staff fatigue, and increases the potential for errors during chemical preparation, pointing to similar high-density execution attempts in Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.

Source: Tampa Free Press, Maria Hernandez, July 25, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde

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