Florida does first same-day double execution since 1964

Florida executed two death row inmates on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, marking the state's first same-day double execution in over six decades. James Duckett, 68, and Dominick Occhicone, 80, died by lethal injection hours apart at Florida State Prison near Starke.

Duckett, a former police officer, was executed first. He was convicted of the 1987 rape and murder of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee in the small town of Mascotte. The girl had gone to a convenience store late at night to buy a pencil. Duckett, who was on duty, encountered her, placed her in his patrol car, and later claimed he released her after a warning. Her body was found the next morning in a nearby lake. Duckett maintained his innocence for decades. His final appeals, including a request for additional DNA testing on evidence, were denied by the U.S. Supreme Court hours before his execution. He declined to make a final statement and was pronounced dead at 1:19 p.m.

Five hours later, Occhicone was executed for the 1986 murders of Raymond and Martha Artzner, the parents of his former fiancée, Anita Gerrety. The killings occurred after Gerrety ended their relationship. Prosecutors said Occhicone arrived at the family's Pasco...