The Daily Beast on Wednesday published a story appearing to criticize Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ approval of executions for five veterans found guilty of rape and murder.
Reports began circulating Tuesday indicating that over 100 veterans signed a letter urging DeSantis to end executions of former service members, noting the governor has praised Florida as “the most veteran-friendly state” in the U.S. The Daily Beast piece referenced DeSantis’ past service in the U.S. Navy as a commissioned officer before highlighting that five of the state’s nine executions have been veterans and pointed to the upset veterans’ letter.
“Florida administers executions by lethal injection or electric chair at the execution chamber located at Florida State Prison,” the Beast stated. “Veterans statewide are now pleading with DeSantis to stop the executions of fellow former service members, all of whom devoted part of their life to protecting the country.”
Listing the five names, the article only gave background for one individual, 62-year-old Jeffrey Hutchinson, noting he was executed in May after being found guilty of murdering his girlfriend and her three children.
“His lawyer said during his trial that he suffered from serious health problems from the war in Iraq, post-traumatic stress disorder, and paranoia. He long claimed that he was innocent and pointed to conspiracy theories to explain the murders,” The Beast added.
Among the five veterans executed in the state are Hutchinson, Bobby Joe Long, Duane Owen, Edward James and Edward Zakrzewski.
Hutchinson, a Gulf War veteran, was convicted of the 1998 murder of 32-year-old Renee Flaherty and her three children: 9-year-old Geoffrey, 7-year-old Amanda and 4-year-old Logan, according to USA Today.
While he maintained his innocence, court records show that on the night of the murders, Hutchinson argued with Flaherty, packed his clothes and guns, and went to a bar, NBC News reported. After telling bar staff he was upset with Flaherty, Hutchinson abruptly left, then called 911 stating he had “just shot” his “family,” the outlet reported.
Officials later said he was found in the garage with gunshot residue on his hands, according to NBC News.
Veterans from the Challenger Learning Center in Tallahassee, the same group that The Daily Beast said is pleading with DeSantis, wrote a letter in April before Hutchinson’s execution, calling him “one of us.”
“Jeff suffered from neurocognitive impairment, hallucinations, paranoia, and uncontrollable aggression—symptoms we now understand were not character flaws but the result of traumatic brain injury and chemical warfare exposure,” the letter argues. “But instead of receiving care, Jeff was met with silence. The science was not there. The VA was not there. His government was not there.”
Prior to Hutchinson’s execution, 63-year-old Edward James was executed in March for the 1993 killings of 8-year-old Toni Neuner and her 58-year-old grandmother, Betty Dick. According to a Florida Supreme Court filing, James entered the U.S. Army at age 17 but later received a “general discharge under honorable conditions” after using drugs.
At the time of the attack, James was renting a room in Dick’s Casselberry, Fla., home, about 10 miles north of Orlando, according to WSAW-TV. Court records obtained by the outlet show James drank up to 24 beers at a party and was believed to have taken LSD.
After returning to his room, James raped Neuner and strangled her, leaving her body behind his bed, according to USA Today. He reportedly told officials at the time, “Eddie, this ain’t no fun … I’ll get me a grown woman.”
James then went into Dick’s room, where he confessed to bludgeoning her, attempted to rape her and stabbed her more than 20 times. He then stole her jewelry and car, fleeing Florida and selling her belongings until his arrest on Oct. 6, 1993, in California, according to WSAW-TV.
James’ attorneys argued that his long-term drug and alcohol abuse, head injuries, and a 2023 heart attack led to mental decline, but the Supreme Court ultimately denied their appeals, the outlet reported.
In June 2023, 62-year-old Duane Owen was executed after being found guilty of fatally stabbing and raping 14-year-old babysitter Karen Slattery, as well as raping and brutally beating 38-year-old mother Georgianna Worden in 1984, according to CBS News.
Owen, who served in the Army, received an honorable discharge shortly after joining, according to Florida Supreme Court records. The two attacks occurred months apart in 1984, with both victims killed in Palm Beach County.
In May 2019, 65-year-old convicted serial killer and rapist Bobby Joe Long was executed in May.
Long, a Vietnam veteran, received the death penalty in 1985 after being convicted of killing at least 10 women in Florida’s Tampa Bay area in 1984, according to Bay News 9. The outlet reported that along with the murders, Long committed dozens of rapes. Most of his victims were strangled, some had their throats slit, and others were bludgeoned, Bay News 9 reported.
Two of his surviving victims attended the execution, with one, Lisa McVey Noland, telling CNN she wanted “to look him in the eye.”
“I wanted to be the first person he saw,” Noland told the outlet. “Unfortunately, he didn’t open his eyes.”
The most recent execution fulfilled by the state was of 60-year-old Edward Zakrzewski, who served in the U.S. Air Force, after he had been convicted of the 1994 machete killings of his 34-year-old wife Sylvia and their children Edward, 7, and Anna, 5. According to CBS News, Zakrzewski committed the murders after his wife sought a divorce.
At the time of the attack, Zakrzewski first struck Sylvia with a crowbar before strangling her with a rope, the outlet reported. The 60-year-old then killed both children with a machete as well as striking Sylvia with the weapons after Zakrzewski believed she had survived the prior assault, according to CBS News.
According to veterans associated with the Challenger Learning Center, which The Daily Beast highlighted in its piece, the group called the execution of veterans “a disturbing trend” under DeSantis.
“We can never be a veteran friendly state when our leader is signing off on their deaths at the hands of the State,” the letter stated. “We urge you now to lead from a place of bravery, to return to the honor code from your service, and to stop setting the executions of our fellow soldiers.”
The letter comes as 67-year-old Kayle Bates, a U.S. Armed Forces veteran, is scheduled to be executed Aug. 19. Bates was convicted and sentenced to death in 1983 for the fatal stabbing of Janet White, who was abducted from the State Farm insurance office where she worked.
Although Bates was initially convicted in 1983, a judge later ordered a new sentencing hearing, according to CBS News. Bates was again sentenced to death in 1995, the outlet reported.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screen Capture/CSPAN)
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