An 80-year-old man is set to make history by becoming the second-oldest person to be executed in modern US history after committing a brutal double murder decades ago. Dominick Anthony Occhicone is scheduled for execution in Florida today, aiming to become the oldest person in the state’s history and the second-oldest in US national history to face capital punishment. This execution is part of a series of lethal actions taken against condemned inmates by the state, with Florida leading the nation in executions this year.
Occhicone was found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend Anita Gerrity’s parents in 1986, and now faces death by lethal injection at 6 pm local time, pending any unforeseen developments. Despite his legal team’s efforts to appeal to the US Supreme Court, their plea was rejected by Florida’s Supreme Court last week. They argued that Occhicone’s age-related health issues, such as kidney and prostate problems, would make his execution exceptionally painful, potentially constituting cruel and unusual punishment under Florida’s state constitution.
Florida prison officials have confirmed their preparedness for Occhicone’s execution, which involves a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug to stop the heart administered through injection. If the execution proceeds as planned, Occhicone will hold the record as the oldest inmate executed in Florida, surpassing two 74-year-old men who held that title briefly. He will also become the second-oldest prisoner to be put to death in modern US history, following the execution of 83-year-old Walter Moody Jr in Alabama in 2018.
Having spent 40 years on death row, Occhicone is the sole surviving member of his immediate family, who previously observed signs of rage in him post-conviction, describing him as a “time bomb.” The tragic events of 1986 saw Occhicone threaten Gerrity’s family, resulting in the murder of her parents Raymond and Martha Artzner. Despite Gerrity’s avoidance of communication with Occhicone, he fatally shot her father and then pursued Gerrity and her daughter, ultimately killing her mother.
The death penalty advocacy group Floridians For Alternatives to the Death Penalty has criticized Occhicone’s impending execution as “cruel and unusual,” citing his ongoing health issues. Grace Hannah, the organization’s executive director, condemned the decision, emphasizing the ethical concerns surrounding the execution of an 80-year-old man with substantial health problems.
