Key facts
- Harold Gene Lucas, 74, was scheduled for execution Tuesday evening for the 1976 murder of Jill Piper and wounding two friends.
- Lucas waived his right to further appeals, stating he is tired after 50 years on death row.
- Lucas's execution would be the 14th in Florida this year.
- Governor Ron DeSantis has set two additional execution dates for September.
- Daniel Owen Conahan Jr. is scheduled for execution on September 10 for kidnapping and strangulation.
- Curtis Wilkie Beasley is scheduled for execution on September 29 for murder and robbery.
Harold Gene Lucas, 74, was scheduled to be executed Tuesday evening in Florida for the 1976 murder of 16-year-old Jill Piper and the wounding of two of her friends. Lucas, who had known Piper for four years and worked for her family, showed up at her home with a rifle and shot Piper multiple times, then shot her friends, Richard Byrd Jr. and Terri Rice.
Lucas would be the 14th prisoner put to death in Florida this year. Governor Ron DeSantis has already signed death warrants for two more executions later this month: Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., 72, on September 10, and Curtis Wilkie Beasley, 77, on September 29. Conahan was convicted of kidnapping and strangling a man, while Beasley was convicted of beating a woman to death with a hammer.
After his death warrant was issued, Lucas told a judge he wanted to waive all post-conviction proceedings, stating, “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 awoke at 5:45 a.m. and was visited by his sister, receiving a meal of steak and fries. He did not meet with a spiritual adviser.
Lucas was initially sentenced to death in 1977, but due to legal challenges and resentencing, he has been sentenced to death four additional times. His conviction for first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder has stood, but the sentencing process has been lengthy.