In a rare and somber moment in Florida’s history, two convicted murderers faced execution Tuesday following the rejection of their final appeals by the U.S. Supreme Court. This marked Florida’s first instance of a double execution since 1964.
The nation’s highest court turned down two separate pleas for stays, thereby clearing the path for the scheduled executions.
Among the executed was James Duckett, a 68-year-old former police officer, whose execution had been initially planned for noon. The process was temporarily postponed as the Supreme Court considered the last-minute stay requests.
Ultimately, Duckett met his fate through lethal injection, with the Florida Department of Corrections confirming his time of death at 1:19 p.m.
The execution of James Duckett was officially conducted via lethal injection, and he was pronounced dead at 1:19 p.m. on Tuesday. (Florida Department of Corrections)
Duckett was convicted of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl in 1987.
The Supreme Court also denied a separate stay for Dominick Occhicone, an 80-year-old who was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 1986.
The Florida Department of Corrections said Occhicone’s execution, also by lethal injection, was carried out at 6:13 p.m. local time.
Occhicone became the oldest inmate executed in Florida.
Dominick Occhicone was executed by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. on Tuesday. (Florida Department of Corrections)
Occhicone’s execution marked the first time Florida executed two inmates in one day since 1964. It was just the second double execution in the U.S. this century and the first since Arkansas executed two inmates in 2017.
Florida executed 19 inmates in 2025, according to a News Media review of Florida Department of Corrections data. The 12 people the state has executed so far this year are more than double the next closest state, with Texas having executed four inmates this year, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Clouds hover over the entrance of the Florida State Prison in Starke, Fla., Aug. 3, 2023. (AP)
Speaking Tuesday at the Florida Sheriffs Association Summer Conference, Gov. Ron DeSantis said his administration is on pace to carry out more executions than any other in Florida history.
“I think we’ll probably end up having done more than any administration in the history of the state of Florida,” DeSantis said.
The governor stressed he does not view the number as a point of pride.
“I’m not, like, taking pride in that because it’s a weighty thing, but to me, as we move through those and bring justice, that makes a big difference for a lot of people out there who suffered really, really serious tragedies,” he said.