An 80-year-old man is scheduled to become the second-oldest person executed in modern US history, decades after murdering his ex-girlfriend's parents. Dominick Anthony Occhicone faces lethal injection at 6 p.m. local time at Florida State Prison, barring last-minute developments.
Execution history in Florida
Occhicone would be the oldest inmate executed in Florida, surpassing two 74-year-old men who held that title weeks earlier. Nationally, he would be second only to Walter Moody Jr., who was 83 when Alabama executed him in 2018 for a series of mail bombings.
Florida has carried out more executions this year than every other state combined, with 17 total executions nationwide in 2024. If carried out, Occhicone's execution would be Florida's 12th this year.
Last-ditch appeals denied
Occhicone's attorneys had appealed to the US Supreme Court after Florida's Supreme Court rejected his case last week. They argued that age-related ailments—including kidney and prostate problems—would make execution especially painful, constituting cruel and unusual punishment under Florida's constitution, which prohibits inflicting a “superaddition” of terror, pain, or disgrace.
A Florida prison official confirmed Tuesday morning that the department is ready to proceed. The state uses a three-drug protocol: a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug that stops the heart.
The 1986 murders
In 1986, Occhicone threatened to harm his ex-girlfriend Anita Gerrity's parents or children after appearing at her home in Holiday, Florida. When her father, Raymond Artzner, confronted him outside, Occhicone grinned at Gerrity as he shot Artzner in the neck, according to court documents. He then broke through a locked door, but Gerrity escaped with her daughter. Occhicone turned the gun on her mother, Martha Artzner, shooting her four times and killing her. Arrested the same day, he was sentenced to life and death for the murders.
Opposition from death penalty opponents
The group Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty condemned the execution as “cruel and unusual.” Executive director Grace Hannah said in a statement: “This is cruel and unusual punishment and an affront to the conscience of everyone involved. He is 80 years old. He looks like he is 80 years old and has the health problems of an 80-year-old.”
Occhicone, who has spent 40 years on death row, is the last surviving member of his immediate family. Relatives had previously described him as a “time bomb” due to his rage.
