Florida Executes Veteran for 1998 Family Murders

Jeffrey Hutchinson, a 62-year-old Gulf War veteran and former Army Ranger, was executed by lethal injection in Florida for the 1998 shotgun murders of his girlfriend Renee Flaherty and her three children, Geoffrey, Amanda, and Logan. Despite his claims that unknown assailants committed the murders as part of a U.S. government conspiracy related to his Gulf War activism, incriminating evidence such as a 911 confession, gunshot residue, and the murder weapon led to his conviction. Hutchinson's defense argued that severe mental illness from his military service should spare him from execution, but all appeals, including to the U.S. Supreme Court, were denied. He was the fourth person executed in Florida this year under warrants signed by Governor Ron DeSantis. Hutchinson had served eight years in the Army, including as an elite Ranger. His execution occurs amid ongoing national debate, as 23 states have abolished the death penalty and several others have imposed moratoriums.