Florida to execute Army veteran for 1986 murder of deputy
Courtesy: Florida Department of Corrections
STARKE, Fla. - Florida is scheduled to execute 77-year-old William Reaves Tuesday for the 1986 murder of Indian River County Deputy Richard Raczkowski, marking the state's 18th execution this year under Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Florida lethal injection execution
What we know:
Reaves is set to receive a three-drug lethal injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke.
Court records show Raczkowski responded to a 911 call at a Vero Beach convenience store in September 1986, where Reaves had called for help using a payphone. During their conversation, a gun fell out of Reaves' shorts, leading to a struggle over the weapon.
Investigators said Reaves regained control of the gun and shot the deputy four times as Raczkowski attempted to run away. The deputy died from his wounds.
Death penalty appeals process
What we don't know:
It remains unclear whether the U.S. Supreme Court will step in to halt the execution as final appeals remain pending before the high court.
Attorneys argued that jurors who recommended death were never told that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs rated Reaves as 100% disabled by post-traumatic stress disorder from his service in the Vietnam War. More than 100 veterans sent DeSantis a letter Monday requesting a stop to the execution, but state officials have not indicated whether clemency will be granted.
Death row veteran appeals
The backstory:
Reaves was initially convicted and sentenced to death roughly a year after the shooting, but the Florida Supreme Court reversed the decision due to a prosecutor's conflict of interest.
He was convicted and sentenced to death a second time in 1992, with subsequent appeals being unsuccessful. The Florida Supreme Court rejected his final state appeals last week, including challenges to the state's lethal injection protocol.
Florida uses a three-drug cocktail consisting of a sedative, a paralytic and a heart-stopping drug. That method differs from single-drug injections used in states like Tennessee, where death row inmate Christa Pike was hospitalized last month after surviving two lethal doses of pentobarbital.
Florida execution rate statistics
By the numbers:
Florida has carried out more than half of the 31 total executions in the U.S. so far this year.
In July, Florida became the first state in nearly a decade to execute two prisoners in a single day. The state set a record last year with 19 executions out of 47 nationwide, and another Florida execution is scheduled for Nov. 5, when 64-year-old Jesse Guardado is set to die for a 2004 robbery and murder.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from court records and the Florida Department of Corrections, who detailed the inmate's legal history and execution protocol, as well as statements from defense attorneys and military veterans.