James Aren Duckett
James Aren Duckett, 68, was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Raiford on July 28, 2026. Supporters said he had worked hard to become a police officer, losing weight before attending the police academy, and that he had a wife and two young sons at the time of the case. His attorney, Elizabeth Wells, who represented him for decades, said he had maintained his innocence and that last-minute appeals seeking DNA testing of evidence were denied. The Polk County Sheriff's Office later announced that it had linked him to a 1987 cold case homicide, a claim that was not tested in court. The Supreme Court denied his last appeal that day.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. His attorneys said he consistently maintained his innocence and criticized Florida's handling of DNA evidence.
Reported by: Florida Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); his attorney.
News reports (6)
- Execution List 1976-present
- Florida double execution day ends -- with the oldest death row inmate's final words: 'I never meant to do what I did'
- Former Lake cop, James Duckett, executed for rape, drowning of 11-year-old
- Busiest US death chamber: Florida executes 2 men in a day, including an octogenarian
- Detectives solve 1987 cold case following execution
- Florida schedules two executions on the same day: one of the condemned recounted his crime on Netflix