Florida set to carry out 14th execution this year in the nation’s busiest death chamber

Florida is on track to conduct its 14th execution this year, with the state's death chamber currently the busiest in the nation. The first execution of the month will take place on Tuesday, featuring Harold Gene Lucas, 74, convicted of killing a 16-year-old girl and wounding two of her friends. This marks Lucas' fifth death sentence, following multiple trials and appeals.

Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has already approved death warrants for two more executions set for later this month. Lucas was arrested in 1976 after trespassing at the home of his former girlfriend, Jill Piper, who had previously dated Lucas and rejected his advances. He shot and killed Piper and wounded her friends, and was ultimately sentenced to death five times before his final sentencing in 1990.