Before Florida executed two inmates in one day July 28, the Catholic bishops of that state issued a pastoral letter urging Catholics to reflect on the Church’s moral opposition to the practice.
The executions marked the first time since 1964 that Florida executed two inmates on the same day, according to a database from the Death Penalty Information Center. The inmates were James Duckett, 68, convicted for the 1987 rape and murder of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee, and Dominick Occhicone Jr., 80, convicted for the 1986 murder of Martha Artzner, the mother of his ex-girlfriend. Occhicone also received a life sentence for the murder of Artzner’s husband, Raymond Artzner.