The execution of a former police officer, previously convicted of the murder and rape of a young girl nearly four decades ago, will remain paused. The state Supreme Court on Monday rejected the state’s appeal to lift the stay, as per court documents.
James Duckett, once a police officer in Mascotte, was accused of targeting 11-year-old Teresa McAbee in 1987. His execution had been scheduled for Tuesday.
The legal motion arose after DNA tests on biological material from the victim’s underwear were deemed inconclusive last Friday, according to court filings. The defense had argued these tests might establish Duckett’s innocence.
Despite the inconclusive results, Florida’s attorney general promptly sought to remove the stay, requesting the state Supreme Court to allow the execution to proceed as planned.
A mugshot of James Duckett, convicted of the 1987 murder and rape of a young girl. (Florida Department of Corrections)
The Supreme Court, however, opted to deny this request on Monday. Six out of seven justices agreed to maintain the stay, permitting the lower court additional time to address “successive claims” related to the DNA evidence. They required status updates on any unresolved issues by Thursday, April 2.
The case against Duckett — who has spent nearly 40 years on Florida’s death row — has drawn intense scrutiny due to his former role as a police officer and his longstanding claims of innocence.
A general view of the Florida Supreme Court, on Monday, Jan 12, 2026, in Tallahassee, Florida. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
On May 11, 1987, then-29-year-old Mascotte police officer James Duckett was seen questioning a young girl at a convenience store near Orlando before ultimately placing her in his patrol car, arguing that it was past curfew.
The 11-year-old reportedly went to the convenience store that night, but never made it home, according to Fox 35 Orlando. Her body was reportedly found the next morning in Knight Lake, less than a mile from the store, and she had been sexually assaulted, strangled and drowned.
Duckett was identified as the last person to see her.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier speaks during a news conference at the Orlando Office of the Attorney General on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
At the time, an FBI expert testified that a pubic hair found at the scene matched Duckett’s, although hair microscopy has since been discredited as an unreliable forensic method.
Fingerprints from both Duckett and Teresa were reportedly found on the hood of his patrol car, and tire tracks at the lake matched the Mascotte police department’s “mud and snow” tires.
In addition, Duckett’s radio logs showed a mysterious gap of more than one hour on the night of the murder.
Duckett represents one of the few former law enforcement officers on death row. The case currently hinges on whether 1980s-era forensic evidence, such as hair matching, is enough to uphold a death sentence when modern DNA testing fails to provide a definitive answer.
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