Florida Executes Harold Lucas, Ending Five-Decade Death Row Ordeal

Florida executed Harold Gene Lucas, 74, who fatally shot his ex-girlfriend Jill Piper, 16, in 1976 after she begged for mercy; Lucas spent 50 years on death row with multiple delays but waived appeals once a death warrant was signed, and this marks the first of eight scheduled executions in September—the most in a month since 2010—reflecting Florida's aggressive use of capital punishment under Gov. Ron DeSantis.