Florida Executes Two Convicted Murderers in One Day

In Starke, Florida, two prisoners were executed on the same day, a rare event in Florida’s modern history. James Aren Duckett, a former police officer convicted of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl in 1987, was put to death at 1:19 p.m. via lethal injection at Florida State Prison. He was the 11th inmate executed by the state this year.

Later in the day, Dominick Anthony Occhicone, aged 80, was scheduled for execution, marking him as the oldest person executed in Florida’s recent history. Convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 1986, Occhicone’s execution was to take place at 6 p.m.

These executions were the first time a state carried out two on the same day since Arkansas did so in 2017. The process followed 18 months during which Governor Ron DeSantis intensified the state’s execution schedule, transforming Florida’s death chamber into the busiest in the nation. The governor stated his goal was to provide justice for victims’ families who have awaited these sentences.

Florida has conducted almost half of the U.S. executions since early 2025, highlighting an accelerated pace under DeSantis’s administration. The governor oversaw a record 19 executions in 2025 alone, surpassing any previous Florida governor since the death penalty’s reinstatement in 1976. Florida executed 29 people in 2025, while the rest of the U.S. saw 35 executions combined within the same timeframe.

Both Duckett and Occhicone had last-minute appeals rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. Duckett’s appeal argued innocence based on inconclusive DNA evidence, while Occhicone’s attorneys pointed out his age-related health issues that could cause excessive suffering during the execution.

The increasing frequency of executions has raised concerns among advocacy groups. Grace Hanna, executive director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, criticized the escalation, suggesting it goes against public sentiment. DeSantis signed Duckett’s initial death warrant in February, with the execution originally scheduled for March 31. However, it was postponed due to the Florida Supreme Court’s order for additional DNA testing. When results remained inconclusive, the execution proceeded.

Occhicone’s death warrant was signed in June, with Duckett added later, marking the first such adjustment in over sixty years in Florida. Historically, multiple executions in a day were more common, last occurring on May 12, 1964.