Sept. 1, 2026
Florida To Execute 74-Year-Old Inmate On Death Row For 50 Years!
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RSS Feed The state of Florida is executing its 14th death row inmate of the year at 6pm ET. 74-year-old Harold Gene Lucas was 24 when he shot his teenaged ex-girlfriend in the head with a rifle and injured her two friends who were there to protect her. 16-year-old Jill Piper had Lucas arrested for trespassing and threatening to kill her the week before he went back to her home, to make good on his threat. Lucas was sentenced to death five times over the past five decades and has now waived his final appeal saying, “The sooner it’s over, the better I’ll enjoy it. I am tired.”
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00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks.
00:00:02
Speaker 2: It is Tuesday, September 1st, and Florida is at it again tonight and is set to execute its 14th inmate of the year. With that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. There's not really a race to the top in this one. They are by far way ahead of any other state in terms of how many executions they are pulling off. And here they go again.
00:00:29
Speaker 1: Yes, Governor DeSantis has made this part of his legacy. He is basically cleaning house. He is providing closure to a lot of families who have waited decades and decades for justice. And in this particular execution, family members of the victim have been waiting 50 years. Five zero. That is crazy.
00:00:57
Speaker 2: Almost unheard of. This is not the way justice is supposed to work. This is unfair to the victim's families. This is unfair to that man. Now, it sounds crazy to give mercy, but that's what we're supposed to do, Robes. This is cruel and unusual. Somebody sitting and waiting for 50 years to die. This is a guy who also got five different death sentences handed his way throughout his time. Robes, this story, I cannot believe. This is a man who Robes, he got his first death sentence the year I was born.
00:01:30
Speaker 1: 1977. For a crime that was committed before you were born. Exactly one year before you were born in August of 1976. I was thinking about it.
00:01:43
Speaker 2: My mom gave birth. I went to kindergarten. I graduated high school. Went to college. Started a career. Got married twice. Had kids. Met you. Went through some hell. No, I'm saying, I have an entire lifetime that's happened to me. He's been sitting in the same spot.
00:01:59
Speaker 1: He's been on death row.
00:02:00
Speaker 2: The whole time.
00:02:01
Speaker 1: That entire time.
00:02:03
Speaker 2: That is insanity.
00:02:03
Speaker 1: It actually is mind blowing. We're talking about Harold Gene Lucas. He's 74 years old. Yes, he is a convicted murderer and a convicted attempted murderer. And his crime, like so many people who are on death row, was heinous. He murdered a, was it his ex-girlfriend or someone who just didn't want his advances?
00:02:28
Speaker 2: It was a bizarre case because the ages don't make sense. She was 16. He was 24 at the time, but reportedly they had previously dated.
00:02:36
Speaker 1: Yes. So they had been dating. She no longer wanted to date him. And so, yes, they always say the most dangerous time for a woman, but she's not even a woman. She was a little girl. She was a teenager girl. She should have been, what, a sophomore in high school? Far too young to be in a relationship with a 24-year-old man. But at some point, yes, she decided she no longer wanted to be romantically involved with him. And he wouldn't have it. And he actually, this is what's so sad. So often we see these cases where he was actually arrested for trespassing.
00:03:13
Speaker 2: At her home.
00:03:14
Speaker 1: And yes, we are talking about, I want to get her name because I always feel like sometimes we lose sight of the victims in this case.
00:03:22
Speaker 2: It's Jill Piper, Richard Bird, and Terry Rice. Richard and Terry are the two friends who she actually had come over to stay with her because she didn't feel safe. But she didn't die until, he didn't kill her until a week after that incident you're talking about. Going to the house to harass her. He was arrested. And then it was a week of confrontations and some back and forth rogues until he eventually, about a week later, went back over to that house with a rifle and started shooting.
00:03:50
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:03:50
Speaker 2: And killed a 16-year-old girl.
00:03:52
Speaker 1: Shot her in the head. He threatened to kill her. That's the thing. You know, he said he was going to do it. He was arrested. He was charged, but he was released, keeps threatening to kill her, and then follows through with it. I don't understand why we don't believe men when they say they're going to kill someone because there are so many and way too many of these stories where Yeah, they follow through with what they said once they get out of jail.
00:04:17
Speaker 2: I mean, bro, this was 50 years ago. A crime 50 years ago. He is going to the death chamber tonight to get lethal injection for something 50 years ago. And, Ropes, again, this isn't a matter of you think the death penalty is right or wrong. The way we apply it is wrong. Ropes, how are we going to have this man sit down... For 50 years, taxpayers paying for him, the other family sitting and waiting because we were told justice is this man being executed. Well, it never happened for a lot of members of that family, Robes. They never got to see justice. That's wrong. DeSantis, whatever you got to say about him, you can't argue at least, Robes, with his logic. And I say that in that these folks have been sentenced to death. There's nothing else to do I'm going to give these families that long-awaited justice. Where do I sign?
00:05:18
Speaker 1: Exactly. And that is what he has set out to do. And so, yes, you mentioned that he had been sentenced five separate times to death. I mean, and all I can think of is all of those hearings, all of those courtrooms, all of those jurors and attorneys, and yes, family members... of Jill Piper, Richard Byrd, and Terry Rice. Well, I'm sure Richard and Terry were probably actively involved in this. They were seeing this through. So to have to continue to go back to court in 1977 when he was convicted, sentenced to death, that sentence was thrown out. Then in 1980, resentenced to death. This was because of a judge's error. And then in 1985, there's a resentencing order filed Because the previous judge died.
00:06:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, they had to start over. They had a different judge in there and it caused the delay.
00:06:10
Speaker 1: Yes.
00:06:11
Speaker 2: So that is three between 1977 and 1985. He has been sentenced to death three times.
00:06:17
Speaker 1: Yes.
00:06:17
Speaker 2: But he keeps going.
00:06:19
Speaker 1: And then in 1987, a jury had to sentence him to death because the court said the jury.
00:06:24
Speaker 2: Is the one that should make the decision, not the judge. But lo and behold. But then, lo and behold, in.
00:06:29
Speaker 1: 1990, a judge ended up having to resentence him to death. Court said the sentencing order wasn't clear that the jury handed down.
00:06:38
Speaker 2: So we need a jury, but the instructions we gave him weren't clear enough, so we got to do this again. He got five death sentences, Rope, in his life. Five different ones, and the last one apparently finally stuck, but that was in 1990. But still, Rope, you go from 1990 to now, what is that, 36 years? We're talking about still, that's just, Rope, that is, no, we're not focused. Yes, focus on the family here, which is what DeSantis is doing. If you want to take him at his word, Rope, they shouldn't have to wait this long.
00:07:10
Speaker 1: Absolutely not. That is just, that is not justice. That is painful. That is painful for everyone involved.
00:07:20
Speaker 2: I'm looking at their list here. He's not the only one. There's a couple more on death row in This is crazy. I know how to pull up all the death row inmates in the state of Florida. We know how to do this now. Not hard to do what I'm saying. We have it readily available to us. Like I have a tab for it because we keep referring to it. But they have several, about five or so, that were sentenced to death in 1976. 1976. 1975 is in there. So you've got a couple more robes who have been sitting there for a long time.
00:07:52
Speaker 1: And you know what? He's tired of it. You know, yes, the family members of the victims who are still alive are tired of it, but this is actually an unusual twist. The inmate himself basically said, I'm sick and tired of this. Uncle, I don't want to do this anymore.
00:08:11
Speaker 2: I mean, he's 74. He's 74. There was one other, maybe even two others, but I know there was another guy in Florida who did this. He just, and he was a bad dude. He might, one of the worst death row crimes we had we've covered. He was a bad dude.
00:08:26
Speaker 1: And he instructed his attorneys to not fight. And he actually wasn't, he executed within less than five years of committing the crime, which at this point in this country is almost unheard of. But he was just like, yeah, I don't want to sit on death row for the next three, four.
00:08:41
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:08:41
Speaker 1: And even in this case, five decades, let's just go ahead and get this done. And look, after all of those court dates and back and forth, Harold, Jean Lucas was, This was the quote that he gave when he waived his last appeal. He said, I have been on death row for 50 years and I have no desire to carry this any further. The sooner it's over, the better I'll enjoy it. I am tired. Wow. Even the inmate says he's tired of sitting on death row. He's tired of waiting. He's tired of all the appeals and he just wants to get it done. Doesn't that say so much?
00:09:23
Speaker 2: It's 50 years. I've been free for 50 years and I'm tired. You know, it's just, that's a long time to sit around and look at the same thing. People around him have come and gone. They've done their sentences. People who he's probably gotten close to. People have died that have been around him. Everything is changing around him. There is a constant at that prison.
00:09:44
Speaker 1: Him.
00:09:45
Speaker 2: He's been on death row for 50 years. It ends tonight. I'm curious how much he will have to say. How much does he have to say after 50 years sitting there? This is, folks, yes, make this very clear. He is one of the longest serving death row inmates in this country's history. He is one of the longest serving, certainly right now, in this country currently, certainly in the state of Florida. These are rare. We don't see that. We've seen some 30s, several 30s, a 40 or two in there. We don't see 50 year. death row.
00:10:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you mentioned a little bit of this, but according to Florida's death row, there are more than 20 inmates who have been on Florida's death row for 40 years or more. That is what Governor DeSantis is trying to whittle down, basically. And there is somebody, the longest serving death row inmate in the state and in the nation. His name is William Ziegler. He arrived in his cell 50 years ago. So tonight's execution is basically on par with a record-setting death row stay, period.
00:10:59
Speaker 2: And so tonight it ends. Unless, I mean, obviously something can go sideways, can go wrong, can get delayed. We've seen this happen in a couple of cases. I don't think we've seen one in Florida, though. We've seen them happen in other states. Florida seems to have this process down, and they're pretty efficient at it, right? Have we seen one that's been botched in Florida this last year or this year?
00:11:18
Speaker 1: I feel like practice makes perfect, and I hate to say it that way, but they have had so much practice in the last two years about getting this right, and their means of execution is lethal injection. They have a three-drug cocktail in that state. And look, they did... They did two in one day this summer. So they are a well-oiled machine. I know that might sound crass, but truly they have been busy.
00:11:49
Speaker 2: They got it down. They can pull off two in a day. Robes, they got it down there in Florida. But stay here. We'll remind you of the numbers we are seeing in the country right now in terms of executions and what we are seeing in Florida in particular. Yes, there is an execution tonight. They will be having another one very soon.
00:12:19
Speaker 1: Welcome back everyone to Amy and TJ. Yes, Florida is at it again, executing its 14th inmate of the year. And yes, it's only September 1, but this particular inmate, we've been talking about 74 year old Harold Jean Lucas convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend. She was just 16 at the time and he was only 24. And yes, he has been on death row or At least for 49 years, he was charged. The murder was 50 years ago. He was convicted and sentenced to death the following year. So he has been one of the longest serving inmates on death row in U.S. history.
00:12:59
Speaker 2: Robes, you think about Florida tonight? I mean, are there, I think it's a 30 day. Once he signs it, you can't do it for 30 days, right?
00:13:09
Speaker 1: I believe that's there. Yes, there is certainly a finite amount of time.
00:13:12
Speaker 2: Robes, when we started this year and we saw the executions that were scheduled, one tops for florida if there was one that were scheduled he signs these things as they come across they're up to 14 and it's september 1 absolutely and they had none scheduled for the most part of the beginning of this year that is incredible how many more will he sign is he willing to sign is there a rhyme or reason to how he's doing this why he's doing this who he's picking i yes and robes The last several have been old guys.
00:13:44
Speaker 1: Yes, and he is absolutely trying to get out some of these lifers who were on death row, and that's really what they've become because I'm sure at the time, even after the fifth and final death sentence that was handed down to this inmate, it's still, how many years since even then has it been? I mean, this is just, it really is, if you want justice to be served, if you want there to be an actual deterrent, Florida is certainly trying to create that, where if you are committing a capital murder in that state, and look, if the next governor follows his orders, in the same footsteps as DeSantis, I would imagine this would give someone pause. Hey, actually, if I get convicted of this, I'm probably going to actually be sentenced to death and I'll actually walk to that death chamber. Not 30 years from now, 40 years from now, 50 years from now.
00:14:47
Speaker 2: But when are we going to start seeing them on a regular basis happen within 10 years, under 10 years, right? If somebody still thinks they got 50 years, 40 years, 30 years. I don't know if that's the same deterrent. But Robes, these headlines, wow, they're killing people left and right. I don't know if all these other criminals are looking as closely as we are and going, oh, that guy did it. He's 70 something. I don't know. Maybe they just see the headlines. Florida executes 14th inmate.
00:15:13
Speaker 1: I guarantee you the inmates on Florida's death row are watching and preparing themselves. And to that point, yes, Governor DeSantis just last month, mid last month, signed the next death warrant for, yes, a 72-year-old inmate named Daniel Owen Conahan Jr. He's scheduled to die September 10th. So nine days from now, But he is 72 years old. He is going through, I mean, he is really clearing out the 70-year-olds, it feels like. He is just, I mean, there's been 74, 74, 75. Do we have an 80-year-old? I mean, he has really gone through these older inmates and saying, it's now your time.
00:15:58
Speaker 2: I mean, Robes, it seems cruel and unusual because he's going after the elderly. But what was the line, Robes, that if you have, I guess, mercy for one is cruelty to the other. Having mercy to the murderer isn't that now putting more pain and pressure on the actual victims and their family? How can you do that? That's not okay. They shouldn't suffer because we're being merciful to him. That makes sense. But Robes, they are At it again, I'm very curious. This is one I'm really, really curious ahead of time to see what he might say in his final words.
00:16:39
Speaker 1: Yes, his final words, because he's had a lot of time to think about them.
00:16:42
Speaker 2: I mean, 50 years. And you know what?
00:16:44
Speaker 1: It's interesting just to get inside DeSantis's head. Late July, he's been asked about this, obviously, because this will be something he will be remembered for. Clearly, he is making headlines nearly every month now. And as the numbers go higher and higher and higher and exponentially so compared to any other state. He's constantly asked about this, but he recently said that it doesn't take away what happened. And I don't know if closure is the right word because you'll never fully get closure, but at least knowing justice was served is something that was very important to a lot of people. And that's why he is making this choice to just sign death warrant after death warrant after death warrant. And he continues to do so. And tonight is number 14.
00:17:29
Speaker 2: Number 14, 24 at the time that he committed this crime. He's 74 now. It was 1976 when he committed this crime. It's 2026, and tonight is the night he is finally, 50 years later, going to pay ultimately for that crime. We'll keep an eye on what's coming out of that Florida death chamber tonight and follow up with you. We always appreciate you spending a little time with us. On behalf of MyDearAmyRobot.com, TJ Holmes. We'll talk soon.
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks.
00:00:02
Speaker 2: It is Tuesday, September 1st, and Florida is at it again tonight and is set to execute its 14th inmate of the year. With that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. There's not really a race to the top in this one. They are by far way ahead of any other state in terms of how many executions they are pulling off. And here they go again.
00:00:29
Speaker 1: Yes, Governor DeSantis has made this part of his legacy. He is basically cleaning house. He is providing closure to a lot of families who have waited decades and decades for justice. And in this particular execution, family members of the victim have been waiting 50 years. Five zero. That is crazy.
00:00:57
Speaker 2: Almost unheard of. This is not the way justice is supposed to work. This is unfair to the victim's families. This is unfair to that man. Now, it sounds crazy to give mercy, but that's what we're supposed to do, Robes. This is cruel and unusual. Somebody sitting and waiting for 50 years to die. This is a guy who also got five different death sentences handed his way throughout his time. Robes, this story, I cannot believe. This is a man who Robes, he got his first death sentence the year I was born.
00:01:30
Speaker 1: 1977. For a crime that was committed before you were born. Exactly one year before you were born in August of 1976. I was thinking about it.
00:01:43
Speaker 2: My mom gave birth. I went to kindergarten. I graduated high school. Went to college. Started a career. Got married twice. Had kids. Met you. Went through some hell. No, I'm saying, I have an entire lifetime that's happened to me. He's been sitting in the same spot.
00:01:59
Speaker 1: He's been on death row.
00:02:00
Speaker 2: The whole time.
00:02:01
Speaker 1: That entire time.
00:02:03
Speaker 2: That is insanity.
00:02:03
Speaker 1: It actually is mind blowing. We're talking about Harold Gene Lucas. He's 74 years old. Yes, he is a convicted murderer and a convicted attempted murderer. And his crime, like so many people who are on death row, was heinous. He murdered a, was it his ex-girlfriend or someone who just didn't want his advances?
00:02:28
Speaker 2: It was a bizarre case because the ages don't make sense. She was 16. He was 24 at the time, but reportedly they had previously dated.
00:02:36
Speaker 1: Yes. So they had been dating. She no longer wanted to date him. And so, yes, they always say the most dangerous time for a woman, but she's not even a woman. She was a little girl. She was a teenager girl. She should have been, what, a sophomore in high school? Far too young to be in a relationship with a 24-year-old man. But at some point, yes, she decided she no longer wanted to be romantically involved with him. And he wouldn't have it. And he actually, this is what's so sad. So often we see these cases where he was actually arrested for trespassing.
00:03:13
Speaker 2: At her home.
00:03:14
Speaker 1: And yes, we are talking about, I want to get her name because I always feel like sometimes we lose sight of the victims in this case.
00:03:22
Speaker 2: It's Jill Piper, Richard Bird, and Terry Rice. Richard and Terry are the two friends who she actually had come over to stay with her because she didn't feel safe. But she didn't die until, he didn't kill her until a week after that incident you're talking about. Going to the house to harass her. He was arrested. And then it was a week of confrontations and some back and forth rogues until he eventually, about a week later, went back over to that house with a rifle and started shooting.
00:03:50
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:03:50
Speaker 2: And killed a 16-year-old girl.
00:03:52
Speaker 1: Shot her in the head. He threatened to kill her. That's the thing. You know, he said he was going to do it. He was arrested. He was charged, but he was released, keeps threatening to kill her, and then follows through with it. I don't understand why we don't believe men when they say they're going to kill someone because there are so many and way too many of these stories where Yeah, they follow through with what they said once they get out of jail.
00:04:17
Speaker 2: I mean, bro, this was 50 years ago. A crime 50 years ago. He is going to the death chamber tonight to get lethal injection for something 50 years ago. And, Ropes, again, this isn't a matter of you think the death penalty is right or wrong. The way we apply it is wrong. Ropes, how are we going to have this man sit down... For 50 years, taxpayers paying for him, the other family sitting and waiting because we were told justice is this man being executed. Well, it never happened for a lot of members of that family, Robes. They never got to see justice. That's wrong. DeSantis, whatever you got to say about him, you can't argue at least, Robes, with his logic. And I say that in that these folks have been sentenced to death. There's nothing else to do I'm going to give these families that long-awaited justice. Where do I sign?
00:05:18
Speaker 1: Exactly. And that is what he has set out to do. And so, yes, you mentioned that he had been sentenced five separate times to death. I mean, and all I can think of is all of those hearings, all of those courtrooms, all of those jurors and attorneys, and yes, family members... of Jill Piper, Richard Byrd, and Terry Rice. Well, I'm sure Richard and Terry were probably actively involved in this. They were seeing this through. So to have to continue to go back to court in 1977 when he was convicted, sentenced to death, that sentence was thrown out. Then in 1980, resentenced to death. This was because of a judge's error. And then in 1985, there's a resentencing order filed Because the previous judge died.
00:06:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, they had to start over. They had a different judge in there and it caused the delay.
00:06:10
Speaker 1: Yes.
00:06:11
Speaker 2: So that is three between 1977 and 1985. He has been sentenced to death three times.
00:06:17
Speaker 1: Yes.
00:06:17
Speaker 2: But he keeps going.
00:06:19
Speaker 1: And then in 1987, a jury had to sentence him to death because the court said the jury.
00:06:24
Speaker 2: Is the one that should make the decision, not the judge. But lo and behold. But then, lo and behold, in.
00:06:29
Speaker 1: 1990, a judge ended up having to resentence him to death. Court said the sentencing order wasn't clear that the jury handed down.
00:06:38
Speaker 2: So we need a jury, but the instructions we gave him weren't clear enough, so we got to do this again. He got five death sentences, Rope, in his life. Five different ones, and the last one apparently finally stuck, but that was in 1990. But still, Rope, you go from 1990 to now, what is that, 36 years? We're talking about still, that's just, Rope, that is, no, we're not focused. Yes, focus on the family here, which is what DeSantis is doing. If you want to take him at his word, Rope, they shouldn't have to wait this long.
00:07:10
Speaker 1: Absolutely not. That is just, that is not justice. That is painful. That is painful for everyone involved.
00:07:20
Speaker 2: I'm looking at their list here. He's not the only one. There's a couple more on death row in This is crazy. I know how to pull up all the death row inmates in the state of Florida. We know how to do this now. Not hard to do what I'm saying. We have it readily available to us. Like I have a tab for it because we keep referring to it. But they have several, about five or so, that were sentenced to death in 1976. 1976. 1975 is in there. So you've got a couple more robes who have been sitting there for a long time.
00:07:52
Speaker 1: And you know what? He's tired of it. You know, yes, the family members of the victims who are still alive are tired of it, but this is actually an unusual twist. The inmate himself basically said, I'm sick and tired of this. Uncle, I don't want to do this anymore.
00:08:11
Speaker 2: I mean, he's 74. He's 74. There was one other, maybe even two others, but I know there was another guy in Florida who did this. He just, and he was a bad dude. He might, one of the worst death row crimes we had we've covered. He was a bad dude.
00:08:26
Speaker 1: And he instructed his attorneys to not fight. And he actually wasn't, he executed within less than five years of committing the crime, which at this point in this country is almost unheard of. But he was just like, yeah, I don't want to sit on death row for the next three, four.
00:08:41
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:08:41
Speaker 1: And even in this case, five decades, let's just go ahead and get this done. And look, after all of those court dates and back and forth, Harold, Jean Lucas was, This was the quote that he gave when he waived his last appeal. He said, I have been on death row for 50 years and I have no desire to carry this any further. The sooner it's over, the better I'll enjoy it. I am tired. Wow. Even the inmate says he's tired of sitting on death row. He's tired of waiting. He's tired of all the appeals and he just wants to get it done. Doesn't that say so much?
00:09:23
Speaker 2: It's 50 years. I've been free for 50 years and I'm tired. You know, it's just, that's a long time to sit around and look at the same thing. People around him have come and gone. They've done their sentences. People who he's probably gotten close to. People have died that have been around him. Everything is changing around him. There is a constant at that prison.
00:09:44
Speaker 1: Him.
00:09:45
Speaker 2: He's been on death row for 50 years. It ends tonight. I'm curious how much he will have to say. How much does he have to say after 50 years sitting there? This is, folks, yes, make this very clear. He is one of the longest serving death row inmates in this country's history. He is one of the longest serving, certainly right now, in this country currently, certainly in the state of Florida. These are rare. We don't see that. We've seen some 30s, several 30s, a 40 or two in there. We don't see 50 year. death row.
00:10:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you mentioned a little bit of this, but according to Florida's death row, there are more than 20 inmates who have been on Florida's death row for 40 years or more. That is what Governor DeSantis is trying to whittle down, basically. And there is somebody, the longest serving death row inmate in the state and in the nation. His name is William Ziegler. He arrived in his cell 50 years ago. So tonight's execution is basically on par with a record-setting death row stay, period.
00:10:59
Speaker 2: And so tonight it ends. Unless, I mean, obviously something can go sideways, can go wrong, can get delayed. We've seen this happen in a couple of cases. I don't think we've seen one in Florida, though. We've seen them happen in other states. Florida seems to have this process down, and they're pretty efficient at it, right? Have we seen one that's been botched in Florida this last year or this year?
00:11:18
Speaker 1: I feel like practice makes perfect, and I hate to say it that way, but they have had so much practice in the last two years about getting this right, and their means of execution is lethal injection. They have a three-drug cocktail in that state. And look, they did... They did two in one day this summer. So they are a well-oiled machine. I know that might sound crass, but truly they have been busy.
00:11:49
Speaker 2: They got it down. They can pull off two in a day. Robes, they got it down there in Florida. But stay here. We'll remind you of the numbers we are seeing in the country right now in terms of executions and what we are seeing in Florida in particular. Yes, there is an execution tonight. They will be having another one very soon.
00:12:19
Speaker 1: Welcome back everyone to Amy and TJ. Yes, Florida is at it again, executing its 14th inmate of the year. And yes, it's only September 1, but this particular inmate, we've been talking about 74 year old Harold Jean Lucas convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend. She was just 16 at the time and he was only 24. And yes, he has been on death row or At least for 49 years, he was charged. The murder was 50 years ago. He was convicted and sentenced to death the following year. So he has been one of the longest serving inmates on death row in U.S. history.
00:12:59
Speaker 2: Robes, you think about Florida tonight? I mean, are there, I think it's a 30 day. Once he signs it, you can't do it for 30 days, right?
00:13:09
Speaker 1: I believe that's there. Yes, there is certainly a finite amount of time.
00:13:12
Speaker 2: Robes, when we started this year and we saw the executions that were scheduled, one tops for florida if there was one that were scheduled he signs these things as they come across they're up to 14 and it's september 1 absolutely and they had none scheduled for the most part of the beginning of this year that is incredible how many more will he sign is he willing to sign is there a rhyme or reason to how he's doing this why he's doing this who he's picking i yes and robes The last several have been old guys.
00:13:44
Speaker 1: Yes, and he is absolutely trying to get out some of these lifers who were on death row, and that's really what they've become because I'm sure at the time, even after the fifth and final death sentence that was handed down to this inmate, it's still, how many years since even then has it been? I mean, this is just, it really is, if you want justice to be served, if you want there to be an actual deterrent, Florida is certainly trying to create that, where if you are committing a capital murder in that state, and look, if the next governor follows his orders, in the same footsteps as DeSantis, I would imagine this would give someone pause. Hey, actually, if I get convicted of this, I'm probably going to actually be sentenced to death and I'll actually walk to that death chamber. Not 30 years from now, 40 years from now, 50 years from now.
00:14:47
Speaker 2: But when are we going to start seeing them on a regular basis happen within 10 years, under 10 years, right? If somebody still thinks they got 50 years, 40 years, 30 years. I don't know if that's the same deterrent. But Robes, these headlines, wow, they're killing people left and right. I don't know if all these other criminals are looking as closely as we are and going, oh, that guy did it. He's 70 something. I don't know. Maybe they just see the headlines. Florida executes 14th inmate.
00:15:13
Speaker 1: I guarantee you the inmates on Florida's death row are watching and preparing themselves. And to that point, yes, Governor DeSantis just last month, mid last month, signed the next death warrant for, yes, a 72-year-old inmate named Daniel Owen Conahan Jr. He's scheduled to die September 10th. So nine days from now, But he is 72 years old. He is going through, I mean, he is really clearing out the 70-year-olds, it feels like. He is just, I mean, there's been 74, 74, 75. Do we have an 80-year-old? I mean, he has really gone through these older inmates and saying, it's now your time.
00:15:58
Speaker 2: I mean, Robes, it seems cruel and unusual because he's going after the elderly. But what was the line, Robes, that if you have, I guess, mercy for one is cruelty to the other. Having mercy to the murderer isn't that now putting more pain and pressure on the actual victims and their family? How can you do that? That's not okay. They shouldn't suffer because we're being merciful to him. That makes sense. But Robes, they are At it again, I'm very curious. This is one I'm really, really curious ahead of time to see what he might say in his final words.
00:16:39
Speaker 1: Yes, his final words, because he's had a lot of time to think about them.
00:16:42
Speaker 2: I mean, 50 years. And you know what?
00:16:44
Speaker 1: It's interesting just to get inside DeSantis's head. Late July, he's been asked about this, obviously, because this will be something he will be remembered for. Clearly, he is making headlines nearly every month now. And as the numbers go higher and higher and higher and exponentially so compared to any other state. He's constantly asked about this, but he recently said that it doesn't take away what happened. And I don't know if closure is the right word because you'll never fully get closure, but at least knowing justice was served is something that was very important to a lot of people. And that's why he is making this choice to just sign death warrant after death warrant after death warrant. And he continues to do so. And tonight is number 14.
00:17:29
Speaker 2: Number 14, 24 at the time that he committed this crime. He's 74 now. It was 1976 when he committed this crime. It's 2026, and tonight is the night he is finally, 50 years later, going to pay ultimately for that crime. We'll keep an eye on what's coming out of that Florida death chamber tonight and follow up with you. We always appreciate you spending a little time with us. On behalf of MyDearAmyRobot.com, TJ Holmes. We'll talk soon.