Florida carried out the execution of two convicted murderers on Tuesday, following the rejection of their appeals by the U.S. Supreme Court. This marked the state’s first double execution since 1964.
The high court denied two separate requests aimed at stopping the executions. James Duckett, a 68-year-old former police officer, was supposed to be executed at noon, but his execution was delayed while awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision. Ultimately, he was executed by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 1:19 p.m., according to the Florida Department of Corrections.
Duckett had been convicted of the 1987 rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl.
Simultaneously, the Supreme Court dismissed a separate bail request for 80-year-old Dominique Occhikorn, who was found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 1986. Occhikorn’s execution also happened via lethal injection, occurring at 6:13 p.m. local time, marking him as Florida’s oldest inmate to be executed.
This event was notable, as it was the first instance of two inmates being executed in a single day in Florida since 1964. Nationwide, this was the second double execution this century, with the last being in Arkansas in 2017.
According to a review of data from the Florida Department of Corrections, the state executed 19 inmates in 2025 alone and has executed 12 people so far this year, significantly more than any other state—Texas has only completed four this year.
During a conference held for the Florida Sheriff’s Association on Tuesday, Governor Ron DeSantis stated that Florida is on track to execute more inmates than in any other administration’s history. While acknowledging the substantial numbers, he expressed that he doesn’t take pride in them. “I’m not proud of it because this is a serious thing,” he said, adding that moving towards justice can create a meaningful impact for those who have endured significant tragedies.
