Florida carries out first double execution in over 60 years

68-year-old James Duckett, a former police officer convicted of raping and murdering an 11-year-old child in 1987, was executed by lethal injection on July 28. Approximately five hours later, 80-year-old Dominick Occhione, who was convicted of murdering his ex-fiancée’s parents in 1986, was also executed.

Occhione became the second-oldest inmate ever executed in the United States. The double executions marked the first time since 1964 that Florida has executed two inmates on the same day. No other state has carried out two executions in a single day since Arkansas did so in 2017.

According to an analysis by USA Today, Florida has accounted for 31 of the 66 executions carried out nationwide since January of 2025. The state has also carried out 63 percent of executions so far this year.

DeSantis has defended Florida’s use of the death penalty, saying the state has a responsibility to provide justice and closure for victims’ families who often wait decades for executions to be carried out. Speaking Tuesday at the Florida Sheriff’s Association Summer Conference, DeSantis said he did not “take joy” in authorizing the executions.

"I just presided today over two executions in the same day, first time that's happened in a long time," he said. "And I don't take joy in doing that, it's a weighty thing."

The governor also said Florida’s execution schedule slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic. "All the normal operations kind of got upended... we got off our schedule there,” DeSantis said. “But some of the victims' families have been waiting a long time and some of them are just like, 'when are we going to get justice?’”

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