Florida is preparing to carry out two executions on Tuesday, becoming the first US state in nearly a decade to execute two inmates on the same day. If both lethal injections go ahead, it will also mark Florida’s first same-day executions since 1964 and the first under the modern US death penalty era for the state.According to The New York Post, James Aren Duckett, 68, is scheduled to be executed at noon, followed about six hours later by 80-year-old Dominick Anthony Occhicone at Florida State Prison near Starke.Both inmates had appeals pending before the US Supreme Court at the time of the scheduled executions.
Two decades-old murder cases
Duckett, a former police officer, was sentenced to death for the 1987 rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl. Earlier this year, the Florida Supreme Court temporarily halted his execution to allow DNA testing on decades-old evidence.The tests produced inconclusive results, neither clearing him nor conclusively linking him to the crime, after which the stay was lifted.Occhicone was convicted for the 1986 murders of his former girlfriend’s parents. His lawyers argued that his advanced age and medical conditions, including kidney and prostate ailments, could make the execution unconstitutional because of the risk of severe pain. State courts rejected the appeal.
DeSantis expands use of capital punishment
The planned executions would be Florida’s 11th and 12th this year, continuing a sharp rise in executions under Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.Since early 2025, DeSantis has signed death warrants at a pace unmatched in modern Florida history. The state carried out 19 executions last year, the highest annual total since the death penalty was reinstated nationwide in 1976. Another execution is already scheduled for August.If Tuesday’s executions proceed, DeSantis will have overseen 31 executions during his final two years in office, compared with just nine during his first six years as governor.
Rare move draws criticism
Executing two inmates on the same day is uncommon in the US. The last such instance occurred in 2017, when Arkansas carried out two executions hours apart. Before that, Texas executed two prisoners on the same day in 2000.Death penalty opponents have criticised Florida’s decision, arguing that the accelerated pace raises concerns over transparency and the possibility of execution errors. Advocacy groups have urged DeSantis to halt both executions, saying the state is expanding capital punishment despite declining public support.Supporters of the governor’s approach argue that long-delayed death sentences should be carried out to provide justice to victims’ families. DeSantis has previously said that many of the crimes were committed decades ago and that “justice delayed is justice denied.”
Oldest inmate in Florida’s modern history
If executed, Occhicone would become the oldest inmate put to death in Florida’s modern history and one of the oldest executed in the US since capital punishment resumed in 1976. His case has renewed debate over executing elderly prisoners who may otherwise die of natural causes while on death row.Florida carries out executions using a three-drug lethal injection protocol consisting of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart.
