Florida carried out the executions of two convicted murderers on the same day, a highly unusual occurrence. James Duckett, 68, and Dominick Occhione, 80 were both put to death by lethal injection at the Florida State Prison, becoming the 11th and 12th people executed in the state this year. They were the first pair executed back to back in the state since Arkansas executed two men three hours apart in 2017.
Occhione apologizes before death
Dominick Occhione was convicted of murdering his former fiancée's parents, Raymond and Martha Artzner, in 1986 after their daughter, Anita Gerrety, told him she was leaving him. After a final meal of eggplant parmesan, salad, garlic bread and a Pepsi, Occhione apologized, saying: “I know it don't mean much, but I'm sorry.” He added: “I never meant to do what I did.”
During his trial, Gerrety testified that Occhione had threatened her and her family, describing him as “volatile.” She said: “He would hurt whatever I loved the most. And he specifically mentioned my parents and my children, and how he was going to blow them away starting especially with my children, starting with the kneecaps and leave me so I could watch them and suffer.”
On the morning of the killing, Occhione arrived at a holiday home Gerrety shared with her parents, armed with a gun. He disabled the phone line, shot her father when he came out, then broke through a locked door and shot Martha Artzner four times as Gerrety and her daughter fled. Bartenders recalled Occhione was a regular at a local bar, often arriving at 7 a.m. and drinking 10-15 cocktails before lunch. He was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m., 11 minutes after receiving the lethal injection.
Duckett executed for 1987 murder of 11-year-old
Five hours earlier, former police officer James Duckett was executed for the 1987 murder of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee. Duckett, one of only two officers in a small town, was the last person to see Teresa after putting her in his police car to lecture her about being out late. An autopsy determined she had been raped, strangled and drowned. Duckett maintained his innocence until his death.
An expert witness in his trial was later found unreliable after giving false evidence in other cases. Duckett petitioned for DNA testing for decades. In the hours before his execution, his lawyers filed a last-minute appeal with the US Supreme Court to test Teresa's clothing, vaginal swabs, and DNA under her fingernails. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas denied the appeal without comment, clearing the way for Duckett's execution.
