An 80-year-old man is set to become the second octogenarian executed in Florida this year, hours after the state puts another death row inmate to death on the very same day.
Story Snapshot
- Florida planned to execute two men on July 28, the first double execution in the state in more than 60 years.
- James A. Duckett, 68, was set to die at noon for the 1987 rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl.
- Dominick Anthony Occhicone, 80, was scheduled to die at 6 p.m., making him one of the oldest inmates ever executed in Florida.
- Governor Ron DeSantis signed the warrants, part of a record-setting pace of executions under his administration in 2026.
Two Death Warrants, One Day, One State
Governor Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant setting James A. Duckett’s execution for noon on July 28 at Florida State Prison near Starke. Duckett, 68, was convicted in the 1987 rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl. Hours later, the state planned to execute Dominick Anthony Occhicone, 80, at 6 p.m. that same day. No state had carried out two executions in a single day in more than 60 years.
Florida is set to become the first state in nearly a decade to carry out two executions in a single day. https://t.co/eqbZySb3vS
— fox8news (@fox8news) July 28, 2026
Occhicone’s age puts him among a small group of elderly men Florida has sent to the death chamber in recent months. He would become the second octogenarian executed this year, following another prisoner in his 80s who died earlier in 2026. Advocates on both sides of the debate have pointed to his age as a sign of just how long some cases sit before a warrant finally gets signed.
A State Setting The Pace For The Whole Country
Florida has led every other state in executions during 2026, putting five convicted murderers to death by late April alone, with more scheduled through the summer.
That count kept climbing through June and July as additional warrants moved forward on a tight legal timeline. The New York Times reported Governor DeSantis has pushed for executions to move faster and more often than in past years.
Officials have framed the accelerated pace as a matter of finally delivering justice for victims and their families after decades of appeals.
One report described the push as “victim-driven,” noting Florida is working through a backlog of death row inmates who have delayed punishment for years through the appeals process. Duckett’s case fits that description directly, with 38 years passing between his conviction and his execution date.
Why Two Executions In One Day Is So Rare
Executing two men on the same day is not just unusual for Florida. It marks the first time any state has done so in decades, according to wire service reporting. Courts, corrections staff, and legal teams normally spread out executions to manage last-minute appeals and reduce the risk that one case’s legal fight bleeds into another’s timeline.
Scheduling two executions hours apart puts real pressure on the courts to resolve any emergency motions quickly, before the clock runs out for either man. That compressed timeline is the real friction point in cases like these, not whether the state has legal authority to carry out a death sentence. Florida’s warrant system gives DeSantis broad power to set these dates once appeals are exhausted or stays are lifted.
Occhicone’s execution had actually been scheduled once before, only to be pushed to align with Duckett’s date after a stay was lifted for the case involving the former police officer. That kind of last-minute shuffling shows how fluid these schedules can be, even after a governor signs a warrant, as courts and lawyers work right up against the deadline.
What Comes Next For Florida’s Death Row
More executions are already lined up beyond July 28, keeping Florida’s total for 2026 on pace to outstrip every other state again this year. Death penalty tracking groups list additional Florida dates stretching into the fall, alongside scheduled executions in Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Alabama. For a state that already leads the nation, the pipeline shows no sign of slowing down.
Supporters of the current pace argue that justice delayed for decades is justice denied to victims’ families who have waited a lifetime for closure. Critics counter that speed increases the risk of procedural error. Both sides agree on one thing: Florida’s death penalty system is moving faster than it has in generations, and the country is watching closely to see what happens next.
EXECUTION DAY: Florida is set to become the first state in nearly a decade to carry out two executions in a single day, planning lethal injections Tuesday for an ex-police officer convicted of a young girl’s murder and an octogenarian who would be the second-oldest inmate put to…
— WPLG Local 10 News (@WPLGLocal10) July 28, 2026
Whatever comes of the ongoing legal fights, the July 28 schedule already marks a historic moment for Florida’s criminal justice system, one that families on both sides of these cases will remember for the rest of their lives.
Sources:
news-journalonline.com, abcnews.com, tallahassee.com, abcnews.go.com, nbcnews.com, pbs.org
