Story perspectives

Florida Executes Two Inmates, Including 80-Year-Old

7/29/2026

Summary

DeSantis Executes

Florida, under Governor Ron DeSantis, performed two lethal injections on July 28, 2026 at state prison near Starke, its 11th and 12th executions of the year, accounting for over half of U.S. executions.
James Aren Duckett died after a three-drug injection for the 1987 rape-murder of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee.
Dominick Anthony Occhicone, Jr., 80, died after a three-drug injection for the 1986 murders of his ex-girlfriend’s parents, becoming Florida’s oldest inmate executed.

Summary

11th Circuit Upholds

The 11th Circuit denied a motion that the six-hour double execution increased the risk of cruel punishment.
Florida and the U.S. Supreme Court refused stays, with Justice Thomas denying Duckett’s stay before his noon execution.
The court rejected Occhicone’s claim that his age and an etomidate shortage violated the Eighth Amendment.
It ruled the 7-5 jury vote in 1987 did not require an eight-juror supermajority, leaving the death sentence intact.

History

Historical Context

After the Supreme Court’s 1976 Gregg v. Georgia decision ended the Furman-era moratorium, 35 states rewrote death-penalty statutes and Utah resumed executions with Gary Gilmore in 1977. The ruling required juries to find an aggravating factor, a standard Florida later applied, and today the 11th Circuit upholds the state’s lethal-injection protocols challenged by inmates such as James Aren Duckett.

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DeSantis Executes

Florida, under Governor Ron DeSantis, performed two lethal injections on July 28, 2026 at state prison near Starke, its 11th and 12th executions of the year, accounting for over half of U.S. executions.
James Aren Duckett died after a three-drug injection for the 1987 rape-murder of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee.
Dominick Anthony Occhicone, Jr., 80, died after a three-drug injection for the 1986 murders of his ex-girlfriend’s parents, becoming Florida’s oldest inmate executed.

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