In Starke, Florida, a former police officer convicted of the on-duty rape and murder of a young girl was executed on Tuesday. This marked the first of two scheduled executions on the same day, a rare occurrence in the U.S. The second execution involved an 80-year-old man, making him the second-oldest inmate executed in modern U.S. history.
Back-to-Back Executions
This event is noteworthy as it is the first instance since 2017, when Arkansas executed two inmates on the same day, of a state carrying out executions virtually back-to-back. Governor Ron DeSantis has accelerated executions in Florida, bringing the state’s death chamber activity to the highest level since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976.
Since early 2025, nearly half of all U.S. executions have occurred in Florida. James Aren Duckett, aged 68, was pronounced dead at 1:19 p.m. following a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison. He was the 11th inmate executed in Florida this year. Convicted of raping and drowning an 11-year-old girl in 1987, Duckett declined to make a final statement. The execution process involved a prison warden shaking him and shouting his name without receiving a response.
If no last-minute intervention occurred, Dominick Anthony Occhicone was set for execution later that day, starting at 6 p.m. Occhicone, aged 80, was convicted for the 1986 murders of his ex-girlfriend’s parents. This execution would make him the oldest executed inmate in Florida’s modern history.
Legal Appeals Denied
Both Duckett and Occhicone sought last-resort appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court. Their appeals were denied by the Florida Supreme Court in the previous week. Duckett’s defense claimed his innocence and questioned the handling of DNA evidence, while Occhicone’s defense highlighted his age-related health issues as a potential cause for cruel and unusual punishment.
The rationale for scheduling two executions six hours apart was not provided by DeSantis. A Florida prison official expressed confidence in executing both sentences efficiently. Florida carries out executions using a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug that stops the heart as per the Department of Corrections protocol.
Record Year for Florida Executions
Governor DeSantis conducted a record 19 executions in 2025, exceeding any other Florida governor’s yearly total since 1976. From 2025 onward, Florida performed 29 executions, while other U.S. states collectively carried out 35 in the same period. If Occhicone’s execution proceeded as planned, it would bring the total executions under DeSantis in two years to 31, compared to nine during his first six years in office. Another execution is expected in August, foreshadowing a potential record-breaking year in 2026.
Executing two inmates on the same day in a single state is uncommon. Only Arkansas in 2017 and Texas in 2000 have done this before in recent history. The group ‘Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty’ urged the governor to stop both executions, expressing concerns over the expansion of capital punishment.
Extended Times on Death Row
Governor DeSantis has rarely spoken about the rapid pace of executions but has emphasized bringing justice to victims’ families who have waited for decades. He has mentioned that some crime dates back to the 1980s. “Justice delayed is justice denied,” he stated, aiming for efficient proceedings while ensuring no innocent person is wrongly executed.
If carried out, Occhicone’s execution would make him the state’s oldest executed inmate. Occhicone would follow Walter Moody Jr., executed in Alabama in 2018 at age 83, in becoming one of the oldest on record. Florida executions proceed under warrants signed by the governor.
Duckett’s initial execution warrant from February was postponed for DNA testing, which later returned inconclusive results. Although this did not prove Duckett’s guilt or innocence, the jury’s conviction remains upheld. The permission to execute two inmates on the same day was given after Duckett’s stay was withdrawn. The decision to add Duckett to Occhicone’s scheduled execution was a first in over sixty years, with the last instance occurring in May 1964.