A Florida man who spent nearly five decades on death row for killing a teenage girl who rejected him was put to death Tuesday night—and he reportedly told a judge he was ready to go.
Harold Gene Lucas, 74, was pronounced dead at 6:18 p. m. after receiving a three-𝒹𝓇𝓊𝑔 lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, according to officials.
The execution came more than 48 years after he fatally shot 16-year-old Jill Piper in August 1976, when she turned down his romantic advances.
When the death chamber curtain rose at 6 p. m. , Lucas was already strapped to a gurney with an IV in his arm.
Asked if he had any final words, he simply told the warden: “No.” Witnesses said he began breathing heavily and gasping for air before becoming unresponsive.
Lucas did not file any last-minute appeals. According to court transcripts, he told a judge, “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.”
Prison officials said he spent his final hours with his sister and enjoyed a last meal of steak and fries. Lucas had been sentenced to death five times by two different judges for murdering Piper and wounding her two friends, Richard Byrd Jr. and Terri Rice.
The case dates back to August 1976, when Lucas—then 24—was arrested for trespassing at Piper’s Bonita Springs home after the teen ended their relationship. At the time, Florida’s age of consent was 18. Lucas had worked for Piper’s family for four years and reportedly told friends he planned to marry her.
A week after his arrest, while Piper was staying with friends for protection, Lucas allegedly shot her and wounded the others.
Jill’s brother, Lester Piper, said after the execution that while he’s not sure “closure” is the right word, there is a “big sense of relief.” Janice Rice, whose sister Terri was wounded in the attack, noted that Terri “survived that horrific night 50 years ago and lived with the trauma and pain for 44 years” before dying in 2020.
Florida has now carried out 14 executions this year—more than half of the 24 inmates put to death across the United States. Outgoing Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has signed more death warrants than any governor in state history, with two more executions scheduled for later this month. He has said the executions bring “long-overdue justice” to families who have waited decades.
As the Sunshine State continues to lead the nation in carrying out the ultimate penalty, one question lingers: how much longer will this pace continue?
