Overview
- Dennis Sochor, 74, is scheduled to be executed Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison after the state Supreme Court denied his appeals and lawyers filed a final appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Dominick Occhicone, who is 80, is set to be executed on July 28 and would become only the second known octogenarian executed in the United States if the sentence is carried out.
- Florida has accelerated executions under Gov. Ron DeSantis, carrying out nine so far this year and overseeing a record 19 in 2025, more than any other state.
- Legal experts say advanced age alone does not bar execution and that to obtain a stay defendants must show severe mental incapacity or a medical condition that would cause undue pain from the lethal-drug protocol.
- The cases highlight a broader trend of an aging executed population caused by decades-long appeals, they divide victims’ families and opponents over mercy and closure, and they spotlight Florida’s practice of giving the governor near-sole authority to issue death warrants.