Florida executed two inmates within hours of each other on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, marking the first double execution in the state in nearly a decade.
Dominick Anthony Occhicone, 80, became the oldest prisoner executed in Florida. He was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.
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m. after receiving a three-drug lethal injection for the 1986 murders of his ex-girlfriend's parents.
His execution came about five hours after former police officer James Aren Duckett, 68, was put to death for the 1987 rape and murder of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee.
Before his lethal injection, Occhicone apologized to those in the chamber. "I know it don't mean much, but I'm sorry," he said.
"I never meant to do what I did." He also thanked his Christian brothers for visiting him during his decades on death row.
Duckett, who declined to give a final statement, was pronounced dead at 1:19 p. m.
He was the 11th inmate executed in Florida this year. Duckett had been convicted of drowning the young girl while working as a central Florida police officer.
After Duckett's execution, the victim's mother, Dorthy Tula, said, "I waited nearly 40 years to have him dead."
The victim's cousin, Tracy Mcfall-Buskirk, added, "This man took advantage of his badge."
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Accelerated Pace Under Governor DeSantis
The dual executions reflect an accelerated pace under Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has scheduled 12 executions in 2026, exceeding the combined total of all other U.
S. states this year.
Anti-death penalty advocates criticized the move.
"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.
DeSantis defended the prompt administration of capital punishment for older cases. "Justice delayed is justice denied.
I felt I owed it to them to make sure this ran very smoothly," he said.
Both inmates had their final appeals rejected by the Florida Supreme Court and the U. S.
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Supreme Court prior to the executions. Florida's Department of Corrections has another execution scheduled for August.
