Rare Double Execution: Florida Executes First Of Two Inmates In One Day, Making History Tonight

00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey, that folks. It is Tuesday, July twenty eighth, and one down, one to go. Seems like an odd thing to say when you're talking about executions, but it certainly applies to Florida Today. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. We say one down because as of this recording, Florida Today has executed one man and has another one planned for a few hours from now.

00:00:30
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a tough one to get your head around because it has been quite some time. It's been more than sixty years since the state of Florida has put two men to death on the same day. The last time that happened was in nineteen sixty four, So that's a big deal. But also perhaps even a bigger deal, the second execution, scheduled for six pm tonight is going to be with the oldest man the state of Florida has ever executed in its modern history. And we've said that now for the third time this summer. That's kind of a crazy headline that we just keep repeating. But yes, an eighty year old man is said to be executed in just a few hours from this recording.

00:01:15
Speaker 1: There was a seventy eight year old a few weeks ago, then another seventy eight.

00:01:19
Speaker 3: Years seventy four, right, seventy four, seventy four. Oh, we had a seventy eighty year old in there, thought it was seventy four.

00:01:24
Speaker 1: Oh my goodness. Then I need to take a look. But yes, this is now an eighty year old man you can take issue with. And people can say all day long, what's the point, and they have issues with the death penalty, But this eighty year old man is a double murderer. This eighty year old man was a forty year old man when he decided to shoot his ex fiance's parents in the face. So you can see the argument robes. But this is the Santos is not messing around. He is clearing their death row, babe. And they are by far leading the nation in executions. I don't know if that's something you want to brag about, but they are. And it's not even close over the past couple of years.

00:02:03
Speaker 2: No, not even In fact, this will be I believe we've got a pretty heavy count. But they account for right now the state of Florida, more than half of all the executions in the entire United States have happened so far this year in the state of Florida. And we did just get word a short while ago that sixty eight year old James Aaron Duckett died by lethal injection, and he died at one nineteen pm Eastern time. He was scheduled to die actually at twelve noon, but they had to wait. They had to wait because we were waiting to hear from the Supreme Court of the United States. It was the last ditch option for James Duckett and for Dominic o'chaconi. They were both they both had appeals into the Supreme Court, and they were both denied just a short while ago, clearing the way for both men to be executed today.

00:02:57
Speaker 1: And this is folks wondering. I don't know if we got a good answer Rohobes as to why now James Duckett was supposed to die in March. He had another execution day scheduled because of I mean, he got a legal reprieve and they allowed some new testing of some DNA and some evidence blah blah blah. I didn't come out and work in his favors, so they rescheduled it. Ropes, I haven't seen a good answer, a good response as to why did it have to go on this day.

00:03:22
Speaker 2: No, in fact, they haven't given it. In fact, a couple articles have been written that Governor DeSantis has not offered an explanation as to why when he rescheduled. I believe the way was cleared in July when he was denied another opportunity. There really is no more DNA to be tested, That's what's at issue, and so he had no other options, no other way forward to try and test this DNA leftover from some forty years ago. And so Governor DeSantis was given the green light to go ahead and reschedule his execution, and he chose today without any real reason behind it. Maybe they figured they already had the system in place, They were already preparing for a previously scheduled execution that was for eighty year old Dominic Ochaconi. So maybe he was thinking, hey, we've already got everyone ready to go, why not just do both of them on the same day.

00:04:15
Speaker 1: Okay, if you tell me that, I would go, Okay, fine, that makes sense. But they haven't said anything.

00:04:19
Speaker 3: They haven't.

00:04:19
Speaker 1: They just seemed awkward to fall on this day. And yes, it is our understanding. Robes we were just looking up and discussing this. There is one death row, there is one place where this takes place. Are they literally cleaning out the chamber, rolling one dead body out and going to use the same chamber to roll another guy in?

00:04:39
Speaker 2: That's that is my understanding, and it's they gave themselves enough time in between. And if you think about it, yeah, there was about an hour delay for Ducats execution just waiting off the Supreme Court, so they built in some buffer time I'm imagining between the two scheduled executions, and look, Florida prison officials haven't waited either as to whether or not the timing of these two in a row creates any logistical challenges for staff, or if it makes it easier to go ahead and just have it all done in one day. This has got to be you know, this is going to take its toll on the folks who work in and around Death Row, and maybe instead of having to prepare for two different days, doing it all in once could possibly even just help out the staff.

00:05:22
Speaker 3: Now.

00:05:22
Speaker 2: Critics say it puts more stress on the execution process. Critics say there are there's a greater potential for complications because of all the extra work that has to be done to carry out two executions. But the state of Florida is trucking on and moving forward.

00:05:39
Speaker 1: And this pace we anticipate will keep up. No reason to think it's going to slow down anytime soon. Robes. But they started the year Florida did ro there was a list of planned executions. We had execution dates. I don't think any more than fifteen, sixteen seventeen in the country were planned. Florida didn't have a lot scheduled. He is signing these things ropes, they come across his desk. We have no idea how many they might do this year.

00:06:03
Speaker 2: No, but they are on pace to have another potential record breaking year.

00:06:08
Speaker 3: Last year they reached nineteen.

00:06:11
Speaker 2: It is not out of the question at all that they could surpass that this year, given the rate at which DeSantis is signing these death warrants. But in terms of James Aaron Duckett, we looked and he had written a bunch. He was preparing to dive back in March, as we pointed out, before he got an extension a stay on his execution to try and have some DNA testing. But we should point out he has maintained his innocence for forty years. He's a former police officer, and when he had the opportunity to finally give those last words, he opted out.

00:06:41
Speaker 3: He did not speak.

00:06:43
Speaker 2: Thought that was an interesting choice because he has been vocal, or at least he had been up until recently.

00:06:48
Speaker 3: So I was a little surprised that he chose not to speak.

00:06:52
Speaker 1: I'm always surprised by what we hear. I'm short and sweet and to the point, longer and apologetic, sometimes rambling and sometimes offensive to the family. Sometimes gives peace to the family, its ropes. I'll never be able to predict what in God's names is going through anybody's head. If you're told this is the last time you will ever speak on earth, what you come up with? And he decided he didn't want to say anything.

00:07:18
Speaker 2: Yeah, and he, like I said, is one of the ones who has maintained his innocence. Those who have admitted their guilt oftentimes will take this moment to apologize, to ask for forgiveness, to talk about their newfound faith.

00:07:32
Speaker 3: A lot of that is what we often hear. But he said nothing again.

00:07:35
Speaker 2: He was a former police officer convicted back in nineteen eighty seven for the murder of an eleven year old little girl, Teresa mcubee. And the chilling thing about the conviction on this one is he was an on duty police officer when he was found guilty for literally abducting this young girl who was at a convenience store. He told her to go home in front of a bunch of people, but then he was seen leaving with her in his car. She didn't come home that night. And I actually don't remember this part of the story, but I read this as I was looking into it this morning. He's the one who actually filed the missing person's report when her mother called the police and said, my daughter didn't come home. She's missing. He's the one who actually filed the police report.

00:08:21
Speaker 3: That is creepy.

00:08:22
Speaker 1: And I know there was robes were saying he's on death row for almost forty years. He maintained his innocence. It should be no, you can look into this case. This ain't that. This ain't one of those stories where there is a drum beat. There is a ground swell of public support and Kim Tart Kardashian is behind and trying to get him out of prison, and this overwhelming evidence of innocence Eh, this ain't that now. I could always leave room robes, but this is not one where people think, we're thinking there was some overwhelming issue of innocence and a grave injustice was being done over now and you can think which one about the death penalty, but by all account vover this was a heinous whatever happened to that little girl? And the law says, and a jury said, it was James Duckett who did awful things to this girl.

00:09:11
Speaker 2: Absolutely, and little Teresa. Just to refresh your memory if you aren't familiar with this case, they found her body the next day in a lake about a mile from that convenience store where she was last seen. She had been raped, strangled, and drowned. And there were tire tracks, palm prints, even a pubic hair match that all went straight back to James Duckett. There were some other murders in the area that have been basically a lot of folks believe some detectives they didn't take the time to actually fully investigate, but they believe he could have been responsible for a few other similar murders in the area. And he was sentenced to death by an eight four jury vote. And in Florida that is still okay, But in no other state. I think this is interesting. Would he have been sentenced to death by just eight jurors that is only in the state of Florida currently.

00:10:01
Speaker 1: Look were you talking about it? You know it Deforvid out in California and I'm resigned. We're just gonna call him to forfit from now Forvid as the singer David, but is spelled to forbid. You were talking about this, Robes, and they're fighting out there over possibly giving him the death penalty. And yes, Robes right now is a moratorium. You don't know what's going to happen down the road if he's on death row and the death penalties implement it. You think about this in Florida, Now, that's a deterrent if you're want to commit a crime or murder, cross a couple of borders into another state. Because they ain't playing around in Florida as of now. I guess things could change Robes down the road that a different governor. Maybe this isn't the case, but they talk about the death penalty not being a deterrent. It doesn't deter anyone from committing crime. Florida might be the first case study or Desanta's might be do not commit a death penalty crime if Dessanta is in charge of that.

00:11:00
Speaker 2: State, correct, And when you see that someone is willing to actually follow through and carry out the law, and look and make sure that he is letting folks know, I mean, he is definitely putting would be criminals, would be murderers on notice in that state. I would have to think that you're right that that is one of the big arguments against the death penalty, that it isn't addurrent. First of all, people don't think they're going to get caught. And second of all, people look, oh, okay whatever. They hardly ever execute anybody it takes. And for a while there was a nationwide moratorium. Certainly different states still have that in place. So yes, it might make someone feel like they could get away with murder. But in Florida, DeSantis is I think doing a pretty good job of trying to change that.

00:11:47
Speaker 1: I would like to check robes. If you went through the speediest process of getting through all of your appeals after you were convicted and put on death row, what's the fastest you could be executed if all your appeals were seen.

00:11:59
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't know the any of the years.

00:12:00
Speaker 1: Would that be Robes, forty years. There's a family out there waiting for justice. The courts told us justice was executing this man. Why are you waiting forty years? What if he had gotten life in prison, but he doesn't have to start his sentence for another forty years. This is the same to me, Robes.

00:12:17
Speaker 2: You're not carrying out not carrying out justice, the justice that was offered to the family, the justice that was offered to the public in that state at that time.

00:12:25
Speaker 3: Again, nineteen eighty seven, he was convicted.

00:12:28
Speaker 1: We should say, Robes, you and I are not sending up here as death penalty proponents.

00:12:33
Speaker 3: Absolutely not, not at all, Not at all.

00:12:37
Speaker 1: However, if you tell me you got it, I'm not mad at you for using it.

00:12:43
Speaker 2: I agree, And I think most people would also say, Hey, it belongs in a governor's hand in the state that that person was found guilty, and if a jury decided that they should be sentenced to death, then that is exactly what should happen. And I think a lot of folks do understand that that. Otherwise there's no point in even having it if you're not going to follow through, if you're not actually going to exact the punishment, then what's the point of even having one, So that makes perfect sense. But when we come back, it is round two in just a few hours, and we will tell you who Dominic o Ochaconi is and why it's taken him forty years to also meet the same fate as James Duckett, and welcome back everyone to a hell of a day in the state of Florida. On this Tuesday, July twenty eighth, they are about to go into round to The execution chamber has been busy today. Earlier this afternoon they executed sixty eight year old James Duckett and next up as eighty year old Dominic Ochaconi. He is set to die at six pm Eastern time. Supreme Court has already denied his appeal. He has no chance of this not happening other than Dysantis calling that phone, which we all know is not going to happen. So we can say with pretty significant confidence barring any technical issue, any sort of issue they could have. There have been from time to time problems with finding veins or some problem in the process. But short of that, he is expected to die by lethal injection. For the nineteen eighty six murders of his former fiance's parents.

00:14:37
Speaker 1: This is a obviously Desanta's is not going to commute his sentence. He signed the death one right. I wonder what the odds are on Calshi for that right. The chances he signs and commutes his.

00:14:51
Speaker 2: Sentence, zero percent is coming from me. I bet on that zero percent.

00:14:57
Speaker 1: Roads. This guy the only shot once the Supreme Court speaks, You got no options except your governor. We know this governor isn't going to do anything but Robes. I guess it is possible something could go wrong in the chamber now they tell us before. I can't remember which one it was, but with an older gentleman, they have to pull sometimes and stretch, tighten the skin, try to find a vein. There was someone Robes, please, I'm so sorry. Should have looked this up ahead of time. There was there was one. They couldn't find a vein, wasn't there someone won't Robes. They couldn't find a vein, and the governor ends up giving him a year long reprieve. Right, things happen, and who knows something like this could take place today. But his only shot now, Robes, is for something to go wrong and they can't find a vein.

00:15:51
Speaker 2: And the case you just were referencing was back in May. So May twenty first of this year in Tennessee, they could not find a backup vein and a central line for Tony Carruthers. So the governor there, Bill Lee, granted him a one year temporary reprieve, but he will be back in that execution chamber in one year. But they it did afford him another year of life, so that would be the only real possibility that anything could change with the six pm execution date. And I will say that has been part of the argument. Again denied all appeals, so all of those appeals are gone. But part of the argument was he had had cancer at one point, he had gone through chemotherapy. That certainly has an impact on vans. The judge Florida Supreme Court looked at it and said, yeah, that was ten years ago. He's fine to die. So they basically just completely poo poo that argument. And the other issue is you remember I said, I said Duckett had been given the death penalty by a jury eight people voting for death, and that would not fly in any other state. Guess what, he only had seven of five. Seven to five was the decision for the death sentence. In today's law in Florida, you have to have at least eight. So even in the state of Florida, if this were a current case and the jury voted seventy five for death, he would be spared the death penalty. So that was another argument that his folks tried to make, that you didn't retroactively apply the new law, and again a judge and courts all just said, too bad, so sad, you're going to pay for your crime regardless.

00:17:24
Speaker 1: I don't know what's right here, Robes. The thing that feels right is to be more merciful than he was in killing somebody. And I know a lot of people will hear that and say, no eye for an eye kind of a thing, and no no matter what age, and he deserves. I don't know if there's part of an eighty year old man. Can you wait them out there's an eighty year old man. Is there any part of giving mercy? Somebody think it is mercy to put an eighty ye old man out of his misery, but it just does something about it.

00:17:50
Speaker 3: He doesn't want to die, He doesn't think about it.

00:17:52
Speaker 2: As being put out of his mercy, out of his misery because he's fighting, trying, and fought until a few hours ago to try and stop or this execution.

00:18:01
Speaker 1: Isn't that something we talk about cruel and unusual punishment. I don't know where the line is, but something about the idea he's an eighty year old man in bad health who has had serious health.

00:18:11
Speaker 3: He's had cancer.

00:18:12
Speaker 1: Issues along the way. I don't know. I just think we should be better. It's not mercy for the crime, it's a human mercy. There's something I don't know. I always think we should try to be better and be better than he is, and be better and not be as vengeful. And I don't know. I just he's a terrible If the family wants him dead, I always defer.

00:18:33
Speaker 2: Ropes, and I do think that is kind of where I land on it as well. I do feel like the family should get to say and in this case, look just to brief you on his crime. You mentioned at the top of the episode that he yes, shot Raymond Artsner in the face and Martha Artchsner several times. Those were the parents, yes, of his former fiance, and she was actually there at the time.

00:18:57
Speaker 3: Her name was Anita. She called off there engaged in two months before the wedding. Get this.

00:19:02
Speaker 2: Hear why she called off the engagement because she said she cited Dominic's temper, his violent tendencies and physical abuse, so she feared from She feared she didn't want to be around him. He was violent, So he keeps trying to win her back. She finally tells him, guess what, I was pregnant, I had an abortion and I've met someone else and that was the tipping point. It set him off. He came into where she was with her parents, immediately shot her father in the face, chased down her and her mom. They got away, and I guess she did get away, but he eventually caught up with her mom, killed her and the father before he died in the hospital. Was able to identify him and said, he killed my wife, he shot me, and like there is no question as to his guilt. He one was responsible for their deaths, and the he got the he got life in present. This is so interesting. For killing the father, he got the death penalty. For killing the mother for whatever reason, that was the determination by the jury again seven to five that he should die for his crime.

00:20:10
Speaker 1: I didn't fully understood. Wasn't there a kid in the house too? How the kid that got away.

00:20:14
Speaker 2: Wasn't the more I know that the fiance got the former fiance got away, she was there with her parents, and.

00:20:19
Speaker 1: How she was able to escape that and escape him who clearly seemed like he had a purpose. He was there to do harm and he did. But man, again, these are brutal crimes. As horrific as that stuff is. What part of us robes grantsome mercy? What part of us is is there any part in hearing that story as a human being, as an American? Do you hear that story and you ought? Do you think, man, he needs to die tonight or do you think that's horrific? He's been in prison and it's up to us to be better.

00:20:56
Speaker 2: Well, you just described the two sides that are outside that flo or to execution chamber.

00:21:02
Speaker 3: Right now.

00:21:03
Speaker 2: There are reporters there who are spending the whole day now, if you think about it, they're on death row covering both of these executions, and they talk about the two sides that are out there very publicly expressing how they feel about the death penalty and how they feel specifically about this day. The fact that two people are dying in one day, So we just.

00:21:25
Speaker 3: There is something. There is something about it. It does seem, it does.

00:21:31
Speaker 2: Seem I don't know. It just feels like, let's just line them up and shoot them. Let's just line them up and hang them in the town square. There is something barbaric. It just feels more so, I guess, to get it done, it feels like you aren't even giving perhaps the solemnity that you should to the event, because you're just clearing them out instead of maybe even taking your time and acknowledging. Look, I think most people who've listened to us know that I have witness and execution, and it was like an all day solemn event. It was held in a certain regard because you are acknowledging the loss of life, and so I don't know, to have them line up just feels a little crass.

00:22:13
Speaker 1: That's weird. And now that part of it, I don't know why we haven't talked about this ahead of time. I'm almost more comfortable with the solemnity taken out of it.

00:22:25
Speaker 3: Right, Just get it done.

00:22:26
Speaker 1: If we're going to treat it like it is, let's not treat it like a human event. Let's not treat it like something that doesn't deserve mercy or our attention. Let's treat it as it is. These are criminals who there is a punishment. Let's exact this punishment and not stop and think about their life and what we're doing and the moral of this and that line them up. This is what we're doing. There's something I'm only saying this now. I hadn't thought about it ahead of time. But when you have one to focus on robes and we focused on so many of these and there are so many questions. But then we say the other side of it. We hear families going, I don't want that person to die because I want to understand when like, it's just so big and so complex.

00:23:07
Speaker 3: So we'll have time for it now.

00:23:09
Speaker 2: No, it's true, and so yes, this was Duckett's death was number eleven for Florida this year, and Ochacona's death will be number twelve for Florida this year. And they are number eighteen and nineteen for the United States. And I told you this, babe. We are so far from over. It is the end of July right now. We have something pretty significant coming up next month. Next month on August thirteenth. There are three executions scheduled in one day.

00:23:39
Speaker 1: Yeah, you were talking about this, and anybody listening right now, who's keeping up with the news. Three in one day, you would automatzly go, Okay, one's got to be in Florida, one's got to be in Texas. No, maybe you'd be wrong with South Carolina. Maybe you'd come up with an Alabama or a Mississippi. No.

00:23:54
Speaker 2: No, So August thirteenth, we've got Anthony Darryl Ruggert Hines is going to die in Tennessee, Carlos quest Us Rodriguez is going to die in Oklahoma, and Jeremy Williams is going to die in Alabama. So Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Alabama are all executing a death row inmate on August thirteenth, and.

00:24:17
Speaker 3: There are still more scheduled for Florida.

00:24:19
Speaker 2: Got another one the following week on Tuesday, August eighteenth, in Florida. So this is just going to continue.

00:24:26
Speaker 1: And these are the ones again Florida. We don't know how many more he's going to sign. We have no idea. Is it thirty days he has he has to plan at least thirty days out.

00:24:35
Speaker 2: I believe that is the timeline, but he has been signing them non stop, I mean, making headlines left and right, and today certainly is one of the bigger ones, with two two executions in one day in the state of Florida. Of course, we'll keep our eye on the happenings there this evening and bring you any updates as they become available. We always appreciate you listening to us every one on amy Roback alongside TJ.

00:25:00
Speaker 3: Holmes. We'll talk to you soon.