Two men on Florida’s death row are scheduled to be executed on Tuesday – within six hours of each other – at the Florida State Prison in Bradford County.
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James A. Duckett execution
James Duckett is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 12 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at the Florida State Prison.
Duckett, 68, a former Mascotte Police Officer, was convicted and sentenced to death for the rape, strangulation, and drowning of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee in May 1987. He was originally scheduled to be executed on March 31, 2026. His execution was put on hold after requesting new DNA testing of McAbee’s underwear that he claimed would exonerate him. The test results were inconclusive, records show. The Florida Supreme Court lifted the stay of execution and denied Duckett’s latest request for post-conviction relief.
According to records, McAbee was out with a 16-year-old boy she knew on May 11, 1987. Both went to a convenience store. Duckett was on patrol that night and questioned why the two were out past curfew. He told the girl to get into his vehicle. She was reported missing that night and her body was found the next morning in a lake. Records said the girl had been raped, strangled, and drowned.
Dominick A. Occhicone Jr. execution
The backstory:
Dominick A. Occhicone, 80, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at the Florida State Prison, becoming the oldest person executed in Florida since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, according to the News Service of Florida.
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Occhicone was convicted on Sept. 18, 1987, of first-degree murder in the deaths of his ex-girlfriend’s parents, Raymond and Martha Artzner in Pasco County, and later sentenced to death.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied post-conviction relief and denied a request for a stay of execution, records show. Defense lawyers for Occhicone argued that Occhicone suffers from heart and kidney disease and cannot shower or move on his own, and that executing him would violate the Eighth Amendment against cruel and unusual punishment.
Florida Death Row
According to the Florida Department of Correction’s website, there are 241 people on death row, including Duckett and Occhicone Jr. Of the 241 people on death row, 240 are men, the website states.
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