Legal representatives for Duckett criticized the state's decision to proceed without conducting additional DNA testing on the victim's clothing and physical evidence collected decades ago.
"It is of no import to the State of Florida that they will execute an innocent man, so long as the proceedings keep their conviction intact," said Elizabeth Wells, defense attorney.
Protests and Criticism
Advocacy groups and anti-death penalty organizations organized demonstrations and prayer vigils across the state, including bringing a 400-pound bell to the Lake County Courthouse steps.
"One of the real challenges is that most people are totally unaware that this is even going on," said Abraham Bonowitz, executive director of Death Penalty Action.
Demonstrators at the courthouse voiced objections to the broader practice of capital punishment as the bell tolled throughout the morning.
"They're human beings," said Tony Ehrlich, a death penalty protester. "And we should treat them like human beings and not like animals."
Advocacy organizations also directed criticisms toward state leadership regarding the accelerated frequency of executions in Florida.
"These are two profoundly different cases, but they point to the same troubling reality: Florida continues to expand the use of capital punishment, despite mounting evidence that it is not what Floridians want," said Grace Hanna, executive director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
Florida Republican Gov.
Ron DeSantis previously defended the pace of scheduled capital punishment cases by citing the length of time victims' families have waited for resolution.
"Justice delayed is justice denied. I felt I owed it to them to make sure this ran very smoothly," he said.
Florida has carried out 30 executions since early 2025, accounting for nearly half of all state executions nationwide during that period.
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Another execution in Florida is scheduled for August 2026.
