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Florida executes Harold Gene Lucas, 14th death row prisoner this year
Harold Gene Lucas, 74, was executed by lethal injection Tuesday at Florida State Prison, becoming the 14th prisoner put to death in Florida in 2025. Lucas, convicted of the 1976 murder of a teenager, waived his appeals, and two more executions are scheduled later this month.
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Florida executes Harold Gene Lucas, 14th death row prisoner this year
STARKE, Fla. — Harold Gene Lucas, 74, was pronounced dead at 6:18 m. Tuesday after receiving a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, becoming the 14th prisoner put to death in Florida this year, authorities said.
Lucas was sentenced to die for the 1976 shooting death of Jill Piper and the wounding of her friends, Richard Byrd Jr. and Terri Rice. Asked if he had any final statement before the injection began, Lucas responded, "No," said spokesman Alex LanFranconi in the governor's office. The spokesman said the execution was carried out without complications.
The execution was the first of three scheduled in Florida this month. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed death warrants for two more executions later in September. Daniel Owen Conahan , 72, is scheduled to die on Sept. 10, and Curtis Wilkie Beasley, 77, on Sept. 29. Conahan was convicted of kidnapping and strangling a man he had paid to pose for nude photos, and authorities suspect him of similar homicides committed in the 1990s in southwest Florida. Beasley was convicted of beating a woman to death with a hammer, robbing her and stealing her car in 1995.
Lucas, who chose not to file appeals with the Florida Supreme Court or the S. Supreme Court, told a circuit judge after his death warrant was issued that he wanted to waive all post-conviction proceedings. The judge granted his request several days later. According to court transcripts, Lucas told the 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."
On Tuesday, Lucas awoke at 5:45 m. and was later visited by his sister and given a meal of steak and fries, Department of Corrections spokesman Jordan Kirkland said. Lucas did not meet with a spiritual adviser, Kirkland added at an afternoon news briefing.
The crime and trial
According to court records, Lucas was 24 in August 1976 when he was arrested for trespassing at Piper's Bonita Springs home, south of Fort Myers. He had known the teenager for four years and worked for her family, officials said. Lucas and Piper had previously dated, and Lucas told a friend he planned to marry her.
About a week after the arrest, Lucas and Piper had two separate confrontations on the same day, several hours apart, investigators said. Witnesses testified that Lucas threatened to kill Piper. Piper asked Byrd and Rice to spend that night at her home for protection, officials said. Lucas eventually showed up with a rifle and shot Piper multiple times while she begged for her life, then shot and wounded her friends, investigators said. He was arrested the next day.
Lucas was convicted of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder, and was sentenced to death — and resentenced to death four more times — over a series of hearings.
He was initially sentenced to death in 1977 with a 12-0 jury recommendation. The Florida Supreme Court later ruled that the trial judge was wrong to consider the heinousness of the attempted murders while deciding the sentence for the murder. The same trial judge resentenced Lucas to death in 1980. By the time a third sentencing was ordered, the original trial judge had died, and a new judge was assigned; that judge sentenced Lucas to death in 1985. The Florida Supreme Court later ruled that a new jury should hear the case, though the conviction itself would stand.
The new jury recommended death by 11-1, and Lucas was sentenced to death for a fourth time in 1987. The Florida Supreme Court ruled the 1987 sentencing order wasn't clear, and Lucas was sentenced to death for a fifth and final time in 1990. No appeals after 1990 were successful.
Executions in Florida and the S.
A total of 47 people were executed in the S. in 2025, and Florida led the way with 19 lethal injections — a record in the state since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Florida has carried out more than half of the 23 total executions in the S. this year. In July, Florida executed two prisoners in one day, the first state in nearly a decade to do so.
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.
How each outlet told it
A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.
Framing: Emphasizes Florida's execution frequency and national prominence in the death chamber — factual and procedural
Facts Included:
Harold Gene Lucas, 74, is set to receive a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke starting at 6 p.m.
He would be the 14th prisoner put to death this year in Florida, and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has already signed death warrants for two more executions set for later this September.
Lucas chose not to file appeals with the Florida Supreme Court or the U.S. Supreme Court.
He told a circuit judge after his death warrant was issued that he wanted to waive all post-conviction proceedings, and the judge granted his request several days later.
Lucas told the judge, according to court transcripts: 'I’ve been on death row for 50 years, and I have no desire to carry this any further.'
Lucas was sentenced to death five times by two different judges after being convicted of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder for the deadly 1976 attack on Jill Piper and the wounding of her friends, Richard Byrd Jr. and Terri Rice.
According to court records, Lucas was 24 in August 1976 when he was arrested for trespassing at Piper’s Bonita Springs home, south of Fort Myers.
Witnesses testified that Lucas threatened to kill Piper.
Piper asked Byrd and Rice to spend that night at her home for protection, officials said.
Lucas eventually showed up with a rifle and shot Piper multiple times while she begged for her life and then shot and wounded her friends, investigators said.
Lucas was initially sentenced to death in 1977 with a 12-0 jury recommendation, court records show.
The Florida Supreme Court later ruled that the trial judge was wrong to consider the heinousness of the attempted murders while deciding the sentence for the murder.
The new jury recommended death by 11-1, and Lucas was sentenced to death for a fourth time in 1987.
The Florida Supreme Court ruled the sentencing order wasn’t clear, and that second judge sentenced Lucas to death for a fifth and final time in 1990.
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025.
Florida led the way with 19 lethal injections, a record in the state since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
Florida has carried out more than half of the 23 total executions in the U.S. this year.
In July, Florida executed two prisoners in one day, the first state in nearly a decade to do so.
Daniel Owen Conahan, 72, is scheduled to die on Sept. 10, followed by Curtis Wilkie Beasley, 77, on Sept. 29.
Conahan was convicted of kidnapping and strangling a man he had paid to pose for nude photos, and authorities suspect him of similar homicides committed in the 1990s in southwest Florida.
Beasley was convicted of beating a woman to death with a hammer, robbing her and stealing her car in 1995.
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.
Framing: the number of executions in Florida this year and its status as the nation's busiest death chamber
Facts Included:
Harold Gene Lucas, 74, is set to receive a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke starting at 6 p.m.
He would be the 14th prisoner put to death this year in Florida.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has already signed death warrants for two more executions set for later this September.
Lucas chose not to file appeals with the Florida Supreme Court or the U.S. Supreme Court.
He told a circuit judge after his death warrant was issued that he wanted to waive all post-conviction proceedings.
Lucas's quote: "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."
Lucas was sentenced to death five times by two different judges.
Lucas was convicted of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder for the 1976 attack on Jill Piper and wounding Richard Byrd Jr. and Terri Rice.
In August 1976, Lucas was arrested for trespassing at Piper's Bonita Springs home.
Piper asked Byrd and Rice to spend that night at her home for protection.
Lucas eventually showed up with a rifle and shot Piper multiple times while she begged for her life and then shot and wounded her friends.
Lucas was initially sentenced to death in 1977 with a 12-0 jury recommendation.
That same trial judge resentenced Lucas to death in 1980.
A third sentencing was ordered, and a new judge sentenced Lucas to death in 1985.
The new jury recommended death by 11-1, and Lucas was sentenced to death for a fourth time in 1987.
The second judge sentenced Lucas to death for a fifth and final time in 1990.
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025.
Florida led the way with 19 lethal injections, a record in the state since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
Florida has carried out more than half of the 23 total executions in the U.S. this year.
In July, Florida executed two prisoners in one day, the first state in nearly a decade to do so.
Daniel Owen Conahan, 72, is scheduled to die on Sept. 10, followed by Curtis Wilkie Beasley, 77, on Sept. 29.
Conahan was convicted of kidnapping and strangling a man he had paid to pose for nude photos.
Beasley was convicted of beating a woman to death with a hammer, robbing her and stealing her car in 1995.
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart.
AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimHarold Gene Lucas, 74, was scheduled to receive a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke starting at 6 p.m.
ClaimHarold Gene Lucas was convicted of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder for the 1976 attack on Jill Piper and the wounding of Richard Byrd Jr. and Terri Rice.
ClaimLucas told a circuit judge after his death warrant was issued that he wanted to waive all post-conviction proceedings, and the judge granted his request several days later.
ClaimLucas told the judge, according to court transcripts: "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."
ClaimLucas had known the teen for four years and worked for her family, and Lucas and Piper had previously dated, with Lucas telling a friend he planned to marry her.
ClaimAbout a week after the arrest, Lucas and Piper had two separate confrontations on the same day, several hours apart, and witnesses testified Lucas threatened to kill Piper.
ClaimPiper asked Byrd and Rice to spend that night at her home for protection, and Lucas eventually showed up with a rifle and shot Piper multiple times while she begged for her life and then shot and wounded her friends.
ClaimThe Florida Supreme Court later ruled that the trial judge was wrong to consider the heinousness of the attempted murders while deciding the sentence for the murder.
ClaimBy the time a third sentencing was ordered, the original trial judge had died, and a new judge was assigned; that judge sentenced Lucas to death in 1985.
ClaimAll Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.
ClaimOn Tuesday, Lucas awoke at 5:45 a.m. and was later visited by his sister and given a meal of steak and fries, according to Department of Corrections spokesman Jordan Kirkland.