An execution date has been set for a former Mascotte police officer who, in May 1987, assaulted and murdered an 11-year-old girl.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for James Aren Duckett on Friday. He is scheduled to be executed on March 31. This will be the state’s fifth execution of the year, following a record 19 in 2025.
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Duckett was found guilty of murdering 11-year-old Teresa McAbee about a year later. Duckett allegedly took the 11-year-old to a lake and sexually abused, strangled, and drowned her.
An investigation turned up various pieces of evidence that led to Duckett’s conviction.
Detectives discovered that McAbee had been observed getting into Duckett’s patrol cruiser at a convenience store less than a mile from the lake where her body was located. Investigators reported finding “distinctive tire tracks” near the lake that matched the tires on Duckett’s patrol car.
McAbee’s fingerprints were also discovered on the bonnet of Duckett’s patrol car, showing “that she had been sitting backwards on the hood and had scooted up the car,” according to the death warrant approved by DeSantis.
According to state officials, Duckett has spent three decades pursuing postconviction litigation but has been unsuccessful.
His execution is one of three set in March, beginning with Billy Leon Kearse on March 3 and ending with Michael Lee King on March 17.
Two other convicted killers, Ronald Palmer Heath and Melvin Trotter, have also been executed in Florida this year.
