LAKE COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 Plans to execute a former Mascotte police officer for the death of a girl in 1987 will remain on hold after the Florida Supreme Court denied the state\u2019s request to allow the execution to proceed.<\/p>\n
Last week, the high court issued a rare stay of execution for James Duckett because the court was still waiting for the results of new DNA testing. <\/p>\n
Duckett was convicted of killing 11-year-old Teresa McAbee, according to a death warrant signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.<\/p>\n
The DNA test results came back inconclusive, so Florida\u2019s attorney general filed a motion to lift the stay of execution. <\/p>\n
[WATCH: DNA testing in James Duckett murder case inconclusive, Florida asks stay to be lifted]<\/p>\n
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier says that since the test is complete and inconclusive, it does not exonerate Duckett, and therefore, the stay of execution should be lifted.<\/p>\n
However, six of the seven Florida Supreme Court justices disagreed, though they did not explain why. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe circuit court continues to have concurrent jurisdiction to rule on motions related to DNA testing and successive claims filed by the petitioner and nothing in this Court\u2019s prior scheduling order precludes these filings,\u201d wrote Chief Justice Carlos Muniz.<\/p>\n
The order called for a status report on all pending issues for Thursday, April 2 by 5 p.m.<\/p>\n
Duckett\u2019s execution date was supposed to be March 31. This means the execution is on hold until at least Thursday.<\/p>\n
Justice Adam Tanenbaum, who was just appointed to the bench by DeSantis in January, dissented the high court\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe court is unnecessarily (and without authority) injecting further delay at the behest of the defendant,\u201d Tanenbaum wrote. <\/p>\n
\u201cAny continued proceedings in the trial court \u2014 though I do not see what else there is to do \u2014 could have no bearing on our appellate jurisdiction in this case.”<\/p>\n
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