Updated
Updated · Tallahassee Democrat · Jul 28
Florida Carries Out 2 Executions in 1 Day, First Since 1964
Updated
Updated · Tallahassee Democrat · Jul 28

Florida Carries Out 2 Executions in 1 Day, First Since 1964

3 articles · Updated · Tallahassee Democrat · Jul 28

Summary

  • Florida put James Duckett to death at 1:19 p.m. ET and Dominick Occhicone at 6:13 p.m. ET, completing its first same-day double execution in 62 years.
  • Ron DeSantis said the state was making up for COVID-era disruptions and responding to victims' families who had waited years for justice, while arguing death-row inmates should not remain there for 20 years.
  • Occhicone, 80, became the second-oldest inmate executed in the United States and the oldest ever executed in Florida; Duckett, 68, had been convicted of the 1987 murder of an 11-year-old girl.
  • Florida has carried out 31 of the 66 U.S. executions since January 2025—47% of the national total—and 63% of executions so far this year, underscoring DeSantis' push to accelerate capital punishment.

Insights

How does executing an 80-year-old man with failing organs challenge the constitutional boundaries of cruel and unusual punishment?
With hidden lab protocols and a compressed timeline, could Florida's rush for a double execution risk a fatal error?
What hidden psychological toll does a rapid-fire double execution take on the prison staff and chaplains forced to facilitate it?