Florida just pulled off something that hasn't happened in over sixty years, and the Supreme Court basically said "go right ahead."
In a pair of unsigned orders on July 28, 2026, the nation's highest court slammed the door on emergency stay requests from two condemned men, as Conservative Brief reported. The denials came just hours before both inmates were scheduled to receive lethal injections at Florida State Prison in Raiford.
James Aren Duckett, a 68 year old former police officer from Mascotte, was pronounced dead at 1:19 p.m. following a three drug protocol. He offered no final words. Then at 6:13 p.m., Dominick Anthony Occhicone, age 80, became the oldest person executed in modern Florida history. It was the Sunshine State's first same day double execution since 1964.
Let's talk about why these men were on death row in the first place.
Duckett's conviction stems from the 1987 kidnapping, sexual battery, and murder of 11 year old Teresa Mae McAbee. The child had walked to a convenience store in Lake County to purchase a pencil. Evidence showed she got into Duckett's patrol car. Her body was later discovered floating in a nearby lake. Investigators found her fingerprints on the hood of his police vehicle, along with additional physical evidence connecting him to the crime. A jury convicted him in 1988 of first degree murder and sexual battery.
For nearly four decades, Duckett insisted he was innocent. Governor Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant earlier this year, and the Florida Supreme Court briefly paused proceedings to allow additional DNA testing on clothing, swabs, and fingernail scrapings from the scene. Those results came back inconclusive and failed to clear him. Lower courts blocked further testing requests, calling them procedurally barred and without merit. His attorneys then sprinted to the Supreme Court with more DNA arguments. The justices turned them away without a single word of explanation.
Occhicone's crimes were equally chilling. On June 10, 1986, the then 40 year old traveled to the Pasco County residence of Raymond and Martha Artzner, parents of his former girlfriend. After being turned away initially, he came back armed, severed the telephone lines, and fatally shot 66 year old Raymond outside. He then forced his way indoors and shot 62 year old Martha four times. His ex managed to flee with her child.
Occhicone received a life sentence for Raymond's killing and a death sentence for Martha's after jurors voted 7 to 5 in favor of capital punishment. His final legal arguments cited advanced age, health problems, alleged shortages of execution drugs, and objections to how frequently Florida carries out death sentences. Every single court told him no.
Victims' advocates and Florida officials praised the Supreme Court's refusal to step in. State Attorney statements emphasized that these rulings finally delivered justice for Teresa McAbee and the Artzner family after roughly four decades of waiting. Anti capital punishment organizations had lobbied hard for delays, but the courts were unmoved.
Nearly 40 years of legal battles. Two executions in one afternoon. And a Supreme Court that didn't blink.
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