Florida carries out execution of former officer James Duckett for 1987 rape and murder

James Aren Duckett, 68, was put to death by lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Raiford at 1:19 p.m. on Tuesday after the Florida Department of Corrections confirmed he declined to make a final statement. The execution followed a series of denied appeals, including a request to the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay to allow DNA testing of evidence from the 1987 crime, which Justice Clarence Thomas rejected without comment.

Duckett had been convicted in 1988 of raping and drowning 11-year-old Teresa McAbee, whose body was found the morning after she disappeared from a convenience store in Mascotte. Prosecutors said extensive review of the case and prior DNA testing showed no new evidence that would exonerate him. The Florida appellate system places the burden on the inmate to prove innocence after a jury conviction.

The execution was the first of two scheduled for the day; Dominick Anthony Occhicone, 80, was slated for a later execution. Anti-death-penalty activists held vigils and prayer services statewide, including a bell-tolling demonstration at the Lake County Courthouse.

Attorney Elizabeth Wells, who has represented Duckett for years, argued in a brief to the Supreme Court that the state’s interest in carrying out the sentence outweighed concerns about possible innocence. The court’s refusal to intervene allowed the execution to proceed as planned.