The execution of a former Florida police officer convicted of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl was temporarily halted Thursday by the Florida Supreme Court. The court issued a stay in execution for 68-year-old James Aren Duckett, who was scheduled to receive a three-drug injection Tuesday at Florida State Prison near Starke, the AP reports. Duckett was sentenced to death in 1988 after being convicted of first-degree murder and sexual battery.
- The legal issue involves a swab from the victim's underwear, WKMG reports. As part of his appeals process, Duckett had sought DNA testing that he argued could exonerate him. A circuit court granted that request, and the testing is still pending. The Florida Supreme Court also ordered the state to address the status of the DNA testing by 5pm Friday.
If the stay isn't lifted by Tuesday, it's not clear when the execution would take place, if at all. According to court records, Duckett had worked as a police officer in Mascotte, a small city west of Orlando. He was on patrol the night of May 11, 1987, when 11-year-old Teresa McAbee disappeared. She was last seen getting into Duckett's patrol car at a convenience store. McAbee's body was found in a lake the next morning less than a mile away from the store, officials said.
A medical examiner determined she was sexually assaulted and then drowned. Blood and hair linked her to Duckett. Distinct tire tracks found at the lake matched the tires on Mascotte patrol cars. Duckett and McAbee's fingerprints were found on the hood of Duckett's car. In court earlier this month, Leigh Clark, deputy director of forensic services for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, said the DNA testing would have four possible outcomes, the Tampa Bay Times reports. If the DNA matches Duckett, the results are inconclusive, or there are no results, he will probably still be executed, but if the DNA matches another person, his death sentence could be overturned.
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