Florida set to execute 14th person this year with two more execution dates set

A 74-year-old Florida man named Harold Gene Lucas faced execution on Tuesday evening for the 1976 murder of 16-year-old Jill Piper and the wounding of her two friends, Richard Byrd Jr and Terri Rice. Lucas was set to receive a three-drug injection at Florida state prison near Starke, starting at 6pm. This would mark the 14th execution in Florida this year, with two more execution dates scheduled later in the month by Governor Ron DeSantis.

Lucas chose not to pursue any last-ditch court appeals, stating his desire to conclude his case after 50 years on death row. He expressed his desire for the process to end swiftly, saying, "The sooner it’s over, the better I'll enjoy it. I am tired."

Lucas was initially sentenced to death in 1977, but the Florida Supreme Court later ruled that the trial judge had improperly considered the severity of the attempted murders when determining the sentence for the murder itself. After multiple resentencings and appeals, Lucas was ultimately executed for a fifth time in 2025.

In total, 47 people were executed in the United States in 2025, with Florida leading the nation with 19 lethal injections. The state had carried out more than half of the 23 executions in the U.S. during the year. Florida executed two prisoners on the same day in July, the first state in nearly a decade to do so. Two additional executions are planned for September 10th and September 29th in Florida.