Florida executed Harold Gene Lucas, 74, on Tuesday for the 1976 murder of 16-year-old Jill Piper, which was the state's 14th execution this year. Lucas was administered a three-drug lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke.
Lucas was convicted of murdering Piper after she rejected his romantic advances. He was also convicted of wounding Piper's two friends, Richard Byrd Jr. and Terri Rice, during the same incident, for which he received five death sentences from two different judges. According to court transcripts, Lucas told a judge, "I've been on death row for 50 years, and I have no desire to carry this any further. The sooner it's over, the better I'll enjoy it. I am tired."
Prison officials stated Lucas spent his final hours with his sister and had a last meal of steak and fries. Records indicate Lucas was 24 years old when he was arrested in August 1976 for trespassing at Piper's Bonita Springs home. At the time, the age of consent in Florida was 18, and Lucas had known Piper and her family for four years while working for them, reportedly telling friends he planned to marry the teen. A week after his trespassing arrest, while Piper was staying with friends for protection, Lucas fatally shot her and wounded her companions.
Florida's 13 executions prior to Lucas's brought the total to 14 for the year, a figure that represents more than half of the 24 executions carried out nationwide. Earlier in the month, Florida executed two prisoners on the same day, the first time a state had done so in nearly a decade. In the previous year, Florida led the nation in executions, accounting for 19 of the 47 people put to death across the U.S., with 19 of those by lethal injection.
Governor Ron DeSantis has signed more death warrants than any governor in Florida's history and had two more scheduled for later in September. He has stated that these executions bring long-overdue justice to families who have waited decades for their loved ones' killers to face the ultimate penalty.