STARK, FL– The Florida Supreme Court has temporarily halted the execution of a former Florida police officer convicted of the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl.
The court issued a Stay in implementation For 68-year-old James Arryn Duckett, who was due to do so Received a three-drug injection on Tuesday At Florida State Prison near Stark. Duckett was sentenced to death in 1988 after being found guilty of first-degree murder and sexual battery.
As part of the appeal process, Duckett sought DNA testing that he said could exonerate him. A circuit court granted that request, and probation remains pending. The Florida Supreme Court also ordered the state to process the DNA testing case by 5 p.m. on Friday.
If the moratorium is not lifted by Tuesday, it is not clear when the execution will take place, if at all.
together There were 19 executions recorded last yearRepublican Gov. Ron DeSantis has presided over more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous record was set in 2014 with eight.
According to court records, Duckett worked as a police officer in Mascot, a small city west of Orlando. He was on patrol the night of May 11, 1987, when 11-year-old Teresa McCabe disappeared. She was last seen riding in Duckett’s patrol car at a convenience store.
McCabe’s body was found in a lake the next morning less than a mile from the store, officials said. The coroner determined that she had been sexually assaulted and then drowned. Blood and hair bound her to Dakit. Distinctive tire tracks found in the lake matched tires on Mascot patrol cars. Duckett and McAbee’s fingerprints were found on the hood of Duckett’s car.
Three teenage girls testified at trial that Duckett had previously given each of them rides and made sexual advances.
A total of 47 people They were executed in the United States in 2025. Florida led the way with a series of death warrants signed by DeSantis. Alabama, South Carolina and Texas tied for second with five executions each.
All executions in Florida are carried out by lethal injection using a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.