DeSantis signs death warrant for July 28 double execution

Ex-officer, 80-year-old set for July 28 lethal injections

James Aren Duckett, 68, is scheduled to die at noon on July 28 at Florida State Prison near Starke, according to a death warrant signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Associated Press reported that Duckett was convicted of raping and drowning an 11-year-old girl in 1987 while working as a police officer in a small central Florida city. His execution had been scheduled earlier this year before a stay was lifted.

Dominick Anthony Occhicone, 80, was already set for execution at 6 p.m. that same day. He was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 1986.

It would be the first time Florida has executed two inmates on the same day in more than 60 years, the AP reported.

Duckett and Occhicone would become the 11th and 12th inmates to be executed in Florida this year if the scheduled lethal injections proceed. Appeals in both cases will eventually go to the U.S. Supreme Court before any executions are performed.