佛罗里达州定于7月28日周二进行两场死刑执行，这将是该州自1976年现代死刑时代以来首次在单日处死两人[1][2]。68岁的詹姆斯·达克特计划于中午被注射处死，80岁的多米尼克·奥基奇将于同日稍后被注射处死[1][2]。此举在法律界和人权组织中引发广泛警惕，批评人士担忧仓促行刑可能导致程序失误。
达克特因1987年强奸并溺水身亡一名11岁女孩而被判死刑，他声称自己无罪但DNA鉴定结果不确定[1][2]。奥基奇则因1986年谋杀前女友的父母而被判死刑[1][2]。奥基奇将成为现代美国历史上第二年长的被执行者，仅次于2018年被执行的83岁的沃尔特·穆迪二世[2]。两人均已上诉至美国最高法院[2]。
在两起案件中，陪审团投票均非全票同意：奥基奇案投票比例为7:5，达克特案为8:4[1]。美国最高法院大法官索尼亚·索托马约尔在2月份称佛罗里达州死刑实践的秘密性为"无法容忍的"[1]。
佛罗里达州近年来的死刑执行频率大幅上升。2024年该州执行了19人，超过以往的冠军州德克萨斯州[1]。今年已有10人被执行，是同期德克萨斯州的两倍多[1]。州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯为此辩护称："一些这些犯罪是在80年代犯下的。迟到的正义就是被拒绝的正义。"[2]
最后一次美国单州在同日执行两人是2017年4月的阿肯色州[1][2]。佛罗里达州最后一次单日进行多起司法处死发生在1964年[1]。
Florida is set to carry out two executions on the same day for the first time since 1976, marking an exceptionally uncommon occurrence in modern American capital punishment history [1][2]. James Allen Duckett, 68, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection at noon on Tuesday, followed six hours later by 80-year-old Dominic Okeane, who will face the same fate [1][2]. The coordinated executions have sparked widespread concern about the secrecy surrounding execution procedures, the risk of errors when executions are rushed, and questions regarding the legal process, particularly instances where jury votes were not unanimous [1].
Duckett was convicted in connection with the 1987 rape and drowning death of an 11-year-old girl, and has maintained his innocence despite inconclusive DNA evidence [1]. Okeane received a death sentence for the 1986 murders of his ex-girlfriend's parents [1]. In both cases, the juries did not vote unanimously to impose death: Okeane's jury voted 7-5 and Duckett's voted 8-4 [1]. Okeane is set to become only the second person executed in modern U.S. history at age 80, with the record holder being 83-year-old Walter Moody Jr., who was executed in 2018 [2].
The executions represent a significant acceleration in Florida's capital punishment rate [2]. Last year, the state carried out 19 death sentences, surpassing Texas as the leading state in executions [1]. This year alone, Florida has already executed 10 people, more than double Texas's four executions [1]. The last time a single U.S. state carried out two executions on the same day was Arkansas in April 2017, while Florida's last multiple execution in a single day occurred on May 12, 1964 [1][2]. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor previously criticized Florida's death penalty practices as "intolerably secret" in February [1]. Governor Ron DeSantis stated: "Some of these crimes were committed in the 1980s. Late justice is denied justice" [2].