Full Breakdown
Florida Executes Two Inmates in Same Day, First Double Execution Since 1964
7/29/2026, 9:30:50 PM
Core Event
On July 28, 2026, Florida carried out two lethal-injection executions within six hours. Former Mascotte police officer James Aren Duckett, 68, was pronounced dead at 1:19 p.m. for the 1987 rape and murder of 11-year-old Teresa Mae McAbee. Dominick Anthony Occhicone Jr., 80, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. for the 1986 killings of his ex-girlfriend’s parents, Raymond and Martha Artzner. This was the state’s first double execution since May 12, 1964.
Background & Context
Governor Ron DeSantis has accelerated Florida’s death-penalty schedule. The state executed 19 inmates in 2025, a record for any Florida governor since the death penalty’s 1976 reinstatement. Legislative changes in 2023 expanded capital-punishment eligibility, and a 2025 law broadened permissible execution methods, allowing the use of any drug not deemed unconstitutional.
Data & Statistics
- Duckett and Occhicone were the 11th and 12th inmates executed in Florida in 2026, bringing the state’s 2026 total to 12, more than all other states combined.
- Florida has executed 30 people since the beginning of 2025, while the rest of the United States executed 35 in the same period.
- Occhicone became the oldest inmate executed in Florida’s modern era and the second-oldest in U.S. history after Walter Moody (83), executed in 2018.
Official Statements & Responses
The Florida Department of Corrections confirmed the executions proceeded after the U.S. Supreme Court denied last-minute stays. The Death Penalty Information Center noted that “Florida is once again leading the country with the number of executions it is conducting,” said Robin M. Maher, executive director.
Criticism & Opposition
- Maher warned that “Gov. DeSantis’s secretive, self-serving pursuit of a record-setting number of executions ignores the trauma that carrying out two executions in a single day will inflict on prison staff.”
- “Most Floridians have no idea that these executions are taking place or how far Governor DeSantis is going with this,” said Abraham Bonowitz.
- Attorney Matt Wells said, “By rushing executions, Florida is increasing the chances that these men will suffer a torturous death.”
On-the-Ground Reports
- Dorothy Tula, mother of Teresa McAbee, said, “I’ve been waiting 40 years to have him dead.”
- Tracy Mcfall-Buskirk, the victim’s cousin, added, “This man took advantage of his badge.”
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Duckett’s defense argued that DNA testing of the victim’s underwear was inconclusive and that the state-selected laboratory consumed the sample, leaving no chance for further analysis. The Florida Supreme Court treated the result as “inconclusive” rather than exculpatory and barred additional testing.
Duckett’s jury voted 8-4 for death; Occhicone’s jury voted 7-5. Under current Florida law, a death-sentence recommendation requires at least eight jurors, raising questions about retroactive application of the newer unanimity requirement.
The governor’s office offered no explanation for scheduling the two executions six hours apart, a point highlighted by critics.
Verbatim Quotes
- “I waited nearly 40 years to have him dead,” — Dorothy Tula
- “Sorry for all the hurt I caused,” — Dominick Occhicone
- “'DeSantis has been setting execution dates roughly every two weeks, which is an extraordinary pace,' Maher said.” — Robin Maher
- “I’m not shocked anymore by the number of death warrants that are being signed, but it struck me as a kind of rupture to the system that we would execute two people within six hours from one another,” — Father Dustin Feddon
What’s Next
Florida’s next scheduled execution is set for August 18, 2026. Legal advocates continue to monitor the state’s execution protocol, the availability of lethal-injection drugs, and ongoing challenges to the rapid scheduling of capital cases.
