Florida Supreme Court keeps James Duckett’s execution on hold

The execution of a former police officer convicted of murdering and raping a young girl nearly 40 years ago will remain on hold after the state Supreme Court on Monday denied the state’s request to lift the stay, according to court documents.

James Duckett, a former Mascotte police officer accused of preying on 11-year-old Teresa McAbee in 1987, was scheduled for execution on Tuesday.

The motion comes after DNA testing of biological material from the victim’s underwear, which the defense argued could prove Duckett’s innocence, came back inconclusive Friday, court documents stated. 

Because the results failed to exonerate Duckett, Florida’s attorney general swiftly moved to lift the stay, urging the state Supreme Court to allow the execution to proceed as scheduled.

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The high court, however, denied the request on Monday, with six of seven justices opting to keep the execution on hold while giving the lower court time to review “successive claims” tied to the DNA evidence and requiring status updates on any outstanding issues by Thursday, April 2.

The case against Duckett — who has spent nearly 40 years on Florida’s death row — has drawn intense scrutiny due to his former role as a police officer and his longstanding claims of innocence.

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On May 11, 1987, then-29-year-old Mascotte police officer James Duckett was seen questioning a young girl at a convenience store near Orlando before ultimately placing her in his patrol car, arguing that it was past curfew.

The 11-year-old reportedly went to the convenience store that night, but never made it home, according to Fox 35 Orlando. Her body was reportedly found the next morning in Knight Lake, less than a mile from the store, and she had been sexually assaulted, strangled and drowned.

Duckett was identified as the last person to see her.

At the time, an FBI expert testified that a pubic hair found at the scene matched Duckett’s, although hair microscopy has since been discredited as an unreliable forensic method.

Fingerprints from both Duckett and Teresa were reportedly found on the hood of his patrol car, and tire tracks at the lake matched the Mascotte police department’s “mud and snow” tires.

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In addition, Duckett’s radio logs showed a mysterious gap of more than one hour on the night of the murder.

Duckett represents one of the few former law enforcement officers on death row. The case currently hinges on whether 1980s-era forensic evidence, such as hair matching, is enough to uphold a death sentence when modern DNA testing fails to provide a definitive answer.