DEVELOPING: Court Stops Florida Execution Scheduled In Days As We Await Results From New DNA Testing

Hey, folks, it is Friday, March twenty seventh, and here's something you don't hear every day out of Florida. They have granted a stay of execution for a death row inmate. But the case gets more interesting because the clock is still ticking on that execution robes.

Help us with this.

Welcome this episode of Amy and TJ. This is a scheduled execution for next week. It could or could not go through robes based on some DNA testing that is pending. This is a hell of a high stakes case right now.

It certainly is, and all eyes are on the state of Florida.

This is almost unheard of. That's why it's it's.

First of all, it's very very rare that the Supreme Court would step in and stay this execution pending further order first place.

But it's even a bigger deal.

That it's happening in the state of Florida because this was a heinous crime. A former police officer convicted of raping and murdering an eleven year old girl. We're talking about James Aaron Duckett.

Yeah, Look, Florida, we've done a lot of executions, and not like execution stories out of Florida. And just for that context, Robes, it's given how DeSantis is signing death Warrens left and right to hear that one has been halted days.

Before it was supposed to go through.

Today is the twenty seventh, it's scheduled for the thirty first, and it still might go through. It might not go through. And I guess, Robes, is it possible this man could go free given the stakes we're talking about. We won't give you everybody these details, but I've we haven't discussed that to this Are we really talking about this man could possibly, yes, get exonerated.

Yes, all of the above is possible.

He could be he could still be executed on Tuesday, and he could just have a postponed execution that would be rescheduled for a later date. Or he could be completely exonerated. It really is one of those three things. This is a big deal, and we're recording this just before noon on Friday. They have given the Supreme Court has given the State of Florida a deadline by the end of business today. They have to let the court know where this DNA evidence is, what the status of the testing is.

That is what's at play here.

James Aaron Duckett's attorneys say that they now have a new way of testing some DNA that was found in that little girl's pants, basically that they say they believe could exonerate their clients.

And this was back in May of nineteen eighty seven, is what we're talking the communities outside of Orlando.

I have that right where he was.

But yes, he did work as a police officer for little Teresa mccabee was out eleven years old. The officer runs into her and another friend says their outpass curfew, says she needs to get in his car. That is the last time she's seen and she's reported missing. The next day, her body was found in a lake. Medical examiner determined this eleven year old girl robes just and again we got a thirteen year old in old house.

It's absolutely horrific.

Yes, the medical examiner said that little Oh my gosh, this little girl was sexually assaulted, she was strangled and then drowned.

That's just awful.

It's hard to even get your head around just the viciousness and the cruelty. But I also look, there was a lot of evidence. When you go through what happened in the trial, I'm actually kind of shocked that the Supreme Court, I believe the decision was six to one correct saying putting a stay on this execution.

But when we go back, I'm sorry, we didn't just think this was the State Supreme Court, so not the US Supreme Court. I guess the US Supreme Court, this never gets involved.

Yeah, they say no, thanks hard pass.

The State Supreme Court voted six to one so overwhelmingly in favor of staying the execution. But you go back and you read what came out in court and the evidence that was presented against him, it's kind of it kind of looks like everything points to this former police officer.

You know, I kind of little off the direction we're going, But you made me think of it, robes, shouldn't we get it?

Right?

I mean, should no matter what if there's a question, Okay, let's give it a couple of days, let's figure this out.

You know, you make a very good point, and I think that's pretty much where the Supreme Court was at this point, because they even said according to court records, that even the state of Florida acknowledged that this evidence could prove his innocence. And so if there's even a thought or a question or a possibility that this new evidence or a new way of testing this evidence is available, why shouldn't we Why wouldn't we do this before executing a man?

You can't undo that.

So this is yes DNA. I believe it was seeming that it was found on the little girl's pants. They have that, and they have had that, but it hasn't gone through whatever latest and greatest DNA testing. I did see a report as well that he it's been talked about in the past, and he wasn't on board with even having this DNA test.

That was what the prosecutor was trying to argue, saying, Look, he had this testing, this new testing available to him starting.

In twenty twenty four, and they've known.

About the DNA, They've known about that since the very beginning of the case. So why wouldn't he have pursued the testing in twenty twenty four? Why wait until you actually have an execution day set? Because Governor DeSantis set this execution date fairly recently, and it wasn't until he got his date where he was like, oh wow, that's the day I'm going to die. That he then tried to get this process going.

Thank your shot, I guess take your shot. You got nothing else to lose. And maybe that's why they did it. But who knows how this now DNA is going to work out. But robes if this DNA which he is claiming could clear him, first of all, does it well?

So that's my point.

The other evidence in the case, and they're saying yes, But maybe the other evidence in the case.

Could be explained.

Some of it could be explained just by the mere fact that he had her in his vehicle to allegedly take her home. And I don't know what he's alleging that maybe when he dropped her off, someone else must have taken her.

Who knows, But I mean this would have to clear him if the girl was sexually assaulted, and that I mean the semen that was left behind doesn't belong to this guy. That's exculpatory. I mean, does that nicely hear him? Yes, that would that somebody else. But like you said, roll all this other stuff he pieced together, some of its circumstantial, some of it seemed to be hard evidence of the interaction.

Yes, yes, so the evidence that was presented at trial. First of all, both of their fingerprints were on the car, So both his James Ducketts and Teresa mcabee's fingerprints were on his car. I think that could be explained just by the fact that she was seen in his car getting into his car.

So that's okay.

But the tire tracks to his vehicle match the tire tracks left behind at the lake where her body was found.

Yeah, that's tough to get around.

And then the blood and hair from the victim were traced back to him.

That's how they got to him in the first place. That it was. So again, how you going to explain it away? Who knows?

And then to me one of the more damning ones. And I know this is circumstantial, but this still had some weight when I was reading about it. Other girls in the area testified that this dude, this police officer, James Duckett, was creepy, would offer them rides and.

Tried to assault them.

So there was a pattern of behavior that was established by three other young girls who testified at his trial.

Yeah, and some of that, it's some of that's circumstantial, and some of that seems to be evidence pointing towards him. But Ropes is he if he thought this DNA was there and could clear him, he would have been screaming for the past twenty whatever years. Test that DNA.

But what's the point of screaming that now?

So you get it postponed, so there's a stay of executions, so you can get another week, another month, maybe another year. But ultimately, if that DNA is tested, that's the final nail. And I mean it is going to be I shouldn't say if it is going to be tested. When it comes back, if it shows it's his DNA, he just puts the final note.

I guess he has nothing to lose. Maybe it would be the point I would.

Say, we have seen again, Roe, we just happened to have covered a lot of executions and at the end they try everything, and we have seen some try things that and have the same argument from the judges and the prosecutors like this was here the whole time you had twenty years, you could have tried this option. You're just trying to delay. And yes, Robes, I bet somebody if you knew you were supposed to die next Tuesday, and they pushed it to Wednesday.

You would appreciate it, right. You fight for it at.

The end, You fight forever, every last second, in every last breath. And maybe that's all this is. However, Robes what if? What if is DNA is tested?

You know it's you make a good point.

And if you're, if you're at any point a part of the process that leads to the execution of a man, however legal and however warranted it may be in the eyes of most people, you still if you had any doubt, it's just a the tiniest pinprick of a doubt that.

Would stay with you. It would stay with me.

It would be one of those things where why wouldn't we have tested the DNA, Why wouldn't we have turned over every rock, Why wouldn't we have just made sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt that this man absolutely is guilty of this horrific crime against this eleven year old girl.

So the testing point, as we're speaking, we don't know the status, but the court has given the state a deadline of this evening, early evening to let them know. I don't know if they need the results of the but they want at least the status.

They want at least the status.

But from what I've read, it's very well possible that we will actually have the results of the DNA testing by late today.

And so you have a stay in place by the court. They can lift that at any time that they want to. So I guess some more legal wrangling needs to take place. But through all this, yes, he wants the DNA test it, but he has been proclaiming his innocence. Stay here, we will let you hear what his attorneys the statement they put out having to do with all this latert back and forth just days before execution day.

Welcome back everyone to this Friday episode here on Amy and TJ, where we are talking about something we don't talk about very often, the state of Florida. The state Supreme Court there put a stay of execution on a man convicted of a heinous crime, and just days away from execution. We're talking about former police officer James Aaron Duckett. He was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering an eleven year old girl, Teresa mccabee, back in nineteen eighty seven.

So this is this is.

An hour by hour, moment by moment case, because there are we've mentioned three things that could happen.

I just thought about another thing I didn't think about before. What if is inconclusive? Is there any chance is not a good enough sample?

If it's income exclusive, I would imagine the standing of the court nineteen ninety he was convicted, that would have to stand, and the decision by the jury to vote for death that would have to stand.

So this might just be a brief pause.

This could be a longer stay while they figure things out, or he could be exonerated.

This is incredible. I am We're sitting here talking about a crime. How many years ago was this growth on this one?

Forty almost forty years ago? Thirty nine years ago.

So we are looking at a clock and in a few hours we could find word that this guy is innocent, he didn't do it.

I don't know.

I don't know how many people out there are proclaiming his innocence necessarily other than his own legal team at this point, but that would be incredible. We are this is a weird countdown or weird thing to be waste on standby.

For yeah, on a Friday afternoon, knowing that there is the possibility that his execution will go forward four days from now. This is what his attorney had to say following the Court's order or the Supreme Court's order, James Duckett has steadfastly professed his innocence for the nearly four decades he has been on death row. DNA testing currently underway, as ordered by the Circuit Court, has the potential to

Hopeful it brings clarity injustice.

It could yes, actually it either way. It could do that.

Very well, but well said, and it seems like they were leaving open the possibility, well, this might not go their clients.

Because all the other evidence points directly at James Duckett. So yes, if this bit of sperm, if this bit of DNA that was on that little girls' pants, if that has a different suspect another person, yeah, the whole thing is upended. His innocence now is literally hanging in the balance. But to imagine, I haven't even let myself think about thirty nine years behind bars for a crime you didn't commit. And he was a former police officer

Also, maybe he's guilty as l and bottom line is just fine, and you know what, but it's okay. We talk about the death penalty plenty here and to know that everybody feels comfortable with. Even if you don't like the death penalty, you can at least say an innocent man is not.

Being you know what.

And I think that either way, if he's if he's exonerated because of the DNA, obviously that's a massive win for James Duckett and perhaps even pointing police an investigator in the right direction for the person who is responsible if that's the case. But if it proves, if it confirms that he in fact did rape and murder this little girl as he was previously convicted of.

That does give peace of mind.

It gives peace of mind to everyone involved in the process that they got the right guy and that the right guy is paying for his sins on Tuesday. So this is a really interesting case. It's developing. We will, of course keep our eye on this, but we thought we would let you know what's happening right now in the state of Florida. But with that, everyone, thank you so much for listening to us. I'm Amy Robach alongside TJ.

Holmes.

We'll talk to you soon.