Starke, Florida — Florida is preparing for a historic day on death row as the state plans to carry out two executions just hours apart, a move not seen in Florida for more than six decades. If both lethal injections proceed as scheduled, 80-year-old Dominick Anthony Occhicone will become the oldest inmate executed in Florida’s modern history and the second-oldest prisoner put to death in the modern United States.
Florida Plans Rare Double Execution
The first execution is scheduled for noon Tuesday, when James Aren Duckett, 68, is set to receive a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke.
Later the same day, prison officials are scheduled to execute Dominick Anthony Occhicone, 80, making Florida the first state in nearly a decade to carry out two executions on the same day.
Duckett was convicted in the 1987 rape and drowning of an 11-year-old girl while serving as a police officer in a small Central Florida city.
Occhicone was sentenced to death for the 1986 murders of his former girlfriend’s parents. If both executions are completed, they will become Florida’s 11th and 12th executions of 2026.
Appeals Failed as U.S. Supreme Court Reviews Continue
The Florida Supreme Court recently denied appeals filed by both inmates.
Duckett’s legal team argued that new DNA testing on decades-old evidence produced inconclusive results, maintaining that the testing did not prove his guilt and supporting claims of innocence.
The court, however, allowed the original jury verdict to remain in place.
Occhicone’s attorneys argued that his advanced age and medical conditions, including kidney and prostate problems, could make the execution unusually painful and therefore unconstitutional.
Both men still have appeals pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, although no orders blocking the executions had been issued.
DeSantis Oversaw Sharp Increase in Executions
The planned executions come after Gov. Ron DeSantis significantly increased the pace of executions during the final years of his administration.
According to state records, Florida carried out 19 executions in 2025, the highest annual total for any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
If Tuesday’s executions move forward, 31 inmates will have been executed during DeSantis’ final two years in office, compared with nine executions during his first six years as governor.
Another execution has already been scheduled for August, putting Florida on track for another record-setting year.
State officials have not publicly explained why the two executions were scheduled approximately six hours apart, and corrections officials have not commented on whether the timeline presents logistical challenges.
Historic Milestone for Florida and the Nation
The last time Florida executed two inmates on the same day was May 12, 1964, according to Department of Corrections records.
Nationally, it is uncommon for a single state to conduct multiple executions in one day. The most recent example occurred in Arkansas in 2017, while Texas also carried out two executions on the same day in 2000.
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If executed, Occhicone would surpass recent records to become Florida’s oldest executed inmate and rank as the second-oldest prisoner executed in modern U.S. history, behind Walter Moody Jr., who was 83 when Alabama executed him in 2018.
Death Penalty Debate Intensifies
The scheduled executions have renewed debate over Florida’s expanding use of capital punishment.
The advocacy group Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty has urged Gov. DeSantis to stop both executions, arguing that the state’s increasing use of the death penalty does not reflect the wishes of many residents.
Gov. DeSantis has previously defended the pace of executions, saying many victims’ families have waited decades for justice.
Florida continues to carry out executions using a three-drug lethal injection protocol, consisting of a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug that stops the heart.
What are your thoughts on Florida carrying out two executions on the same day? Should states continue expanding the use of the death penalty, or should capital punishment policies be reconsidered? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
