Overview
- The Florida Supreme Court, which issued the stay Thursday, ordered the state to report the status of the DNA testing by Friday at 5 p.m.
- Duckett, a former Mascotte police officer convicted in 1990 of killing 11-year-old Teresa McAbee, was scheduled to be executed March 31 under a warrant that runs through April 7.
- The new testing focuses on semen found on McAbee’s jeans, a sample Duckett declined to test in 2004, after a circuit judge approved analysis using newer methods available since at least 2024.
- Justice Adam Tanenbaum dissented and called the stay premature, saying results were expected before March 31 and criticizing Duckett for waiting until after the warrant to seek testing.
- At trial, prosecutors cited fingerprints on Duckett’s patrol car, a hair reported to match him, and tire-track testimony tying a patrol vehicle to the lake, and any new DNA result could prompt fresh court action within the warrant window.