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James Duckett: Florida Supreme Court OKs additional DNA testing
The Florida Supreme Court issued a ruling on Thursday allowing further DNA testing, continuing the stay of James Duckett's execution. In its ruling, Duckett wants the full results of the DNA testing he requested earlier and to have those results analyzed by a qualified bioinformaticist. Duckett, a former Mascotte Police Officer, was sentenced to death after being convicted in the 1987 rape and murder of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee. He was set to be executed on March 31, but that was stayed after a last-minute request to conduct DNA testing of a sample found on the girl's jeans. Those results came back inconclusive, records stated. Teresa McAbee was out with a 16-year-old boy on May 11, 1987. Both were approached by Duckett, a Mascotte Police Officer at the time. He allegedly told the girl to get in his patrol vehicle. She was reported missing. The next day, her body was found in Knight Lake.
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Florida Supreme Court on Friday cleared another legal hurdle for the executions of two death row inmates scheduled to die Tuesday, denying requests to halt the lethal injections while both men continue to seek relief from the U.S. Supreme Court.
The rulings leave James Aren Duckett and Dominick Anthony Occhicone awaiting possible last-minute action from the nation's highest court before their scheduled executions.
What we know:
The Florida Supreme Court denied James Aren Duckett's request for a stay of execution, allowing the state to move forward with his scheduled execution at noon Tuesday at Florida State Prison in Stark.
Duckett, 68, a former Mascotte police officer, was sentenced to death for the 1987 killing of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee.
The court also previously denied a stay for Dominick Anthony Occhicone, 80, who is scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. Tuesday for killing his former girlfriend's parents in Pasco County about four decades ago.
Both inmates have pending requests before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The backstory:
Duckett's attorneys have sought additional DNA testing on semen samples recovered from McAbee's clothing.
The Florida Supreme Court temporarily halted Duckett's execution in March after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his first death warrant, allowing time for DNA testing to proceed. The testing did not exonerate Duckett, but his attorneys later requested additional analysis, leading to the latest appeal.
Friday's ruling rejected that request.
What they're saying:
Justice Adam Tanenbaum sharply criticized Duckett's latest appeal, writing that the post-conviction motion was "both time-barred and frivolous, undoubtedly filed only for the purpose of unreasonably delaying his execution further."
Tanenbaum also wrote that Duckett's attorneys should "show cause why there should not be sanctions imposed."
Justice Jorge Labarga agreed with denying the stay but objected to Tanenbaum's criticism of defense counsel.
"In these most serious of cases, where death warrants have been signed and execution dates are imminent, counsel on both sides have a solemn obligation to the process," Labarga wrote. "They are guided by their professional and ethical responsibilities, with the understanding that even those condemned to death and facing execution are entitled to access to our courts."
Timeline:
Duckett was convicted and sentenced to death for McAbee's 1987 killing.
Earlier this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Duckett's execution warrant, but the Florida Supreme Court temporarily stayed the execution while DNA testing was conducted.
After those tests failed to exonerate Duckett, his attorneys sought additional testing, which the court rejected Friday.
If the U.S. Supreme Court does not intervene, Duckett is scheduled to be executed at noon Tuesday, followed by Occhicone at 6 p.m.
Big picture view:
Occhicone, 80, is set to become the oldest inmate executed in Florida since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 following the U.S. Supreme Court's reinstatement of capital punishment.
If both executions proceed, Florida will carry out two executions on the same day, underscoring the state's continued use of capital punishment while legal challenges over DNA evidence and post-conviction appeals remain common in death penalty cases.
The Source: This story was written based on reporting by the News Service of Florida.