Florida executed two men in one day — a rare move since 2017 — as Governor Ron DeSantis pushes the state’s death penalty machine to unprecedented levels. James Aren Duckett, 68, was put to death for raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl in 1987, while Dominick Anthony Occhicone, 80, became the second-oldest person executed since the death penalty’s return, for killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 1986. Both had exhausted all legal appeals, including U.S. Supreme Court denials. Duckett’s team challenged DNA evidence; Occhicone’s argued his age made the execution cruel and unusual. With Florida now carrying out nearly half of all U.S. executions this year, officials remain ready to proceed — using a three-drug lethal injection protocol — despite no public explanation for scheduling both executions on the same day.

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