Florida To Carry Out Two Executions Hours Apart — First Same-Day Double in Over 60 Years

Florida authorities have scheduled two executions on the same day, hours apart — a move that would mark the state's first same-day double execution in more than six decades and comes amid a rapid increase in Florida's use of capital punishment.

Who Is Scheduled

James Duckett is scheduled for noon. Convicted in 1987 in the killing of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee, Duckett has spent more than three decades on death row. He has maintained his innocence and his attorneys say post-conviction DNA testing produced inconclusive results; they contend the state selected a lab that could not perform all appropriate testing.

Dominick Occhicone, 80, is scheduled to be executed several hours after Duckett. Convicted in the 1986 killings of Raymond and Martha Artzner, Occhicone would be only the second octogenarian executed in the modern era of the U.S. death penalty, according to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). He has argued that his advanced age and related health problems make execution cruel and unusual; the Florida Supreme Court rejected that claim.

James Duckett, left, and Dominick Occhicone were both convicted by juries, and appellate courts have denied multiple attempts to overturn their death sentences – although Duckett has maintained his innocence. - Florida Department of Corrections

Context And Controversy

Both executions are planned by lethal injection. Advocates and legal teams for the inmates have raised concerns about the compressed schedule, arguing that holding two executions in one day increases operational pressure and the risk of complications. Multiple appeals and lawsuits, some warning of so-called "botched" executions because of the tight timeline, remain pending.

Under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida's pace of executions has accelerated. DPIC data shows Florida recorded a modern-era high of 19 executions in 2025 and has already executed 10 inmates this year. Critics say the state leads the nation in a troubling way: since 1973, Florida has had 30 death-row exonerations — the most of any state — highlighting concerns about wrongful convictions.

Voices And Reactions

Maria DeLiberato, senior counsel at the ACLU's Capital Punishment Project, characterized the current administration as "the most active death penalty administration we've ever seen." Maya Foa, CEO of Reprieve, called the pace "asking for more problems" and said the scheduling raises the risk of complications.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has said his administration is pursuing justice for victims' families as the state's pace of executions increases. - Marta Lavandier/AP

Father Dustin Feddon, a Catholic priest who ministers to men on Florida's death row and who visits Duckett, said the double scheduling felt like "a rupture to the system." He described his role preparing inmates spiritually and questioned the decision to pursue executions of frail, elderly prisoners.

Process And Oversight

Florida is one of the few states where the governor has sole authority to issue a death warrant, a power critics say concentrates discretion in the executive branch and reduces transparency. Supporters of the governor say the state is responding to victims' families who seek timely closure; DeSantis has defended the administration's actions as delivering justice efficiently.

Legal Status

Both men were convicted by juries and have exhausted multiple appeals in state and federal courts. Their legal teams continue to pursue last-minute challenges; courts have so far permitted the scheduled executions to proceed. CNN was unable to reach the families of the victims for comment.

This story is part of wider national trends: after executions peaked nationally in 1999, the overall use of capital punishment declined, concentrated increasingly in a smaller number of states. Still, recent increases in several jurisdictions, and Florida's outsized share of recent executions, have renewed debate about the death penalty's application and safeguards.

Reporting note: This article synthesizes court rulings, public statements, advocacy group data (DPIC), and interviews reflecting positions on both sides of this issue. CNN reporting contributed to the original coverage.