STARKE, Fla. — Florida executed former Mascotte police officer James Aren Duckett on Tuesday afternoon, beginning what the state planned as its first same-day double execution since 1964.
The Florida Department of Corrections scheduled Occhicone’s execution for 6 p.m., with a final media briefing planned afterward.
Duckett, 68, was pronounced dead at 1:19 p.m. following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison, according to the Associated Press. He was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering 11-year-old Teresa McAbee in Lake County in 1987.
A second condemned prisoner, 80-year-old Dominick Anthony Occhicone, was scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. for the 1986 murders of Raymond and Martha Artzner in Pasco County.
If Occhicone’s execution proceeds, Florida will have carried out two executions approximately six hours apart. The last state to conduct two executions on the same day was Arkansas in 2017.
Duckett Executed After DNA Litigation
Duckett was a Mascotte police officer and the only officer patrolling the city on the night McAbee disappeared.
The Florida Supreme Court said Duckett was the last person seen with McAbee in his patrol car. Her body was discovered near Knight Lake the following day.
A jury convicted Duckett of first-degree murder and sexual battery in 1988. He maintained his innocence throughout the nearly four decades he spent on death row.
His execution was initially scheduled for March 31 but was stayed while additional DNA analysis was conducted. The testing did not produce a conclusive result.
On July 8, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Duckett’s latest post-conviction motion, clearing the way for Gov. Ron DeSantis to reschedule the execution.
The court cited circumstantial evidence introduced at trial, including tire tracks and fingerprints from Duckett and McAbee found together on the hood of his patrol vehicle.
Attorneys opposing the execution questioned evidence used at the original trial, including microscopic hair analysis that has since faced broader scientific scrutiny. The courts ultimately declined to stop the execution.
Occhicone Scheduled for Second Execution
The Florida Department of Corrections scheduled its final media briefing for 7 p.m. Tuesday, following Occhicone’s planned 6 p.m. execution.
Occhicone was convicted of fatally shooting Raymond and Martha Artzner, the parents of his former girlfriend, in Pasco County in 1986.
Court records show that a jury found him guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. He received a death sentence for Martha Artzner’s murder and a life sentence for Raymond Artzner’s murder.
His attorneys argued that his age and medical conditions created risks during the lethal-injection process. They also challenged the state’s execution procedures and sought intervention from the courts.
If the execution is completed, Occhicone would become the oldest person executed in Florida and one of the oldest prisoners executed in the United States during the modern death-penalty era.
No court overturned his convictions or death sentence before Tuesday’s scheduled execution.
First Same-Day Florida Executions Since 1964
Florida last executed two prisoners on the same day in 1964, before the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily invalidated existing death-penalty laws in 1972.
The modern death-penalty era began after the Supreme Court allowed revised capital-punishment statutes in 1976.
Same-day executions have remained exceedingly rare. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the last state to conduct two executions on one day was Arkansas in 2017.
The organization said Florida’s previous same-day executions involved Blake Emmett and Dawson Sie, who were executed in the electric chair in 1964.
Florida’s Execution Pace Accelerates Under DeSantis
The scheduled double execution continues Florida’s rapid increase in the use of capital punishment under DeSantis.
Florida carried out a state-record 19 executions in 2025. Duckett’s execution was the state’s 11th scheduled execution of 2026, according to execution-tracking organizations.
DeSantis and other supporters of capital punishment have characterized the executions as long-delayed enforcement of lawful sentences and justice for victims’ families.
Death-penalty opponents have criticized the pace, questioned the state’s execution procedures and argued that lengthy periods on death row, disputed forensic evidence and the age or health of some prisoners warrant additional scrutiny.
The convictions in both cases remained legally valid, and no court had granted relief preventing Tuesday’s executions.
Sources and Records
- Florida Department of Corrections — Dominick A. Occhicone Jr. Execution Media Schedule
- Florida Supreme Court — James Aren Duckett Case
- Florida Supreme Court’s July 8 Duckett Decision
- Florida Supreme Court — Occhicone v. State
- Death Penalty Information Center — Florida Double Execution
