Jeffrey Hutchinson, a 62-year-old Army combat veteran, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 6 p.m. today at Florida State Prison near Starke for the 1998 shotgun killings of his girlfriend and her three young children in Crestview, Florida. Barring a last-minute stay, Hutchinson will be the fourth person executed in Florida this year under death warrants signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, with a fifth execution already scheduled for May 15.
Hutchinson, who served eight years in the Army, including time as an elite Ranger, has consistently maintained his innocence. He claims that two unknown assailants committed the murders as part of a U.S. government conspiracy to silence his activism regarding Gulf War illnesses and other veteran-related issues.
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However, court records paint a different picture of the events leading up to the deaths of 32-year-old Renee Flaherty and her children: 9-year-old Geoffrey, 7-year-old Amanda, and 4-year-old Logan. According to the records, Hutchinson had argued with Flaherty on the night of the murders before packing his belongings and guns into a truck. He then went to a local bar, where he reportedly told staff that Flaherty was angry with him before leaving abruptly.
Shortly thereafter, a 911 call was made by a male voice from the house Hutchinson and Flaherty shared. The caller stated, “I just shot my family.” All four victims were found dead from shotgun wounds, and a 12-gauge shotgun was discovered on the kitchen counter. Police located Hutchinson in the garage with a phone still connected to the 911 center and gunshot residue on his hands.
At his 2001 trial, Hutchinson’s defense rested on the assertion that two unknown men entered the home and killed Flaherty and the children after a struggle. The jury ultimately rejected this claim, finding Hutchinson guilty of four counts of first-degree murder. He received a life sentence for Flaherty’s death and three death sentences for the children’s murders.
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Over the past two decades, Hutchinson has pursued numerous unsuccessful appeals, many focusing on the severe mental health problems he contends were triggered by his Gulf War experience. Most recently, in late April, his legal team sought to halt today’s scheduled execution, arguing that Hutchinson is currently insane and therefore not competent to be put to death.
Bradford County Circuit Judge James Colaw dismissed this argument in an order issued on April 27. “This Court finds that Jeffrey Hutchinson does not have any current mental illness,” Judge Colaw stated. “This Court finds that Mr. Hutchinson’s purported delusion is demonstrably false. Jeffrey Hutchinson does not lack the mental capacity to understand the reason for the pending execution.”
In court filings, Hutchinson’s lawyers detailed his struggles with Gulf War Illness, a cluster of chronic health problems reported by veterans of the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and paranoia related to his belief that he was under government surveillance.
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Chelsea Shirley, one of Hutchinson’s attorneys, expressed disappointment with the court’s decision. “Mr. Hutchinson has a decades-long delusion that he is being executed to silence his efforts to expose government secrets. Two experts have concluded that he is not competent for execution. Based on these facts, we believe the court was wrong to find Mr. Hutchinson competent to be executed, but we are not surprised.”
Florida’s lethal injection protocol involves the administration of a sedative, followed by a paralytic agent and finally a drug to stop the heart, according to the state Department of Corrections.
Following Hutchinson’s scheduled execution, Florida is set to execute Glen Rogers on May 15.
Rogers was convicted of murdering a woman in a motel in 1997 and was also convicted of another murder in California. Investigators suspect his involvement in other killings across the country.
As the 6 p.m. deadline approaches, all eyes are on whether Hutchinson will receive a last-minute reprieve, adding another chapter to this long and tragic case.
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