The State of Florida is moving forward with the execution of James “Erny” Hitchcock this Thursday at 6:00 p.m., despite last-minute legal scrambles and long-standing claims that he did not commit the 1976 murder of Cynthia Driggers. Hitchcock, who has spent nearly half a century on death row, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at Florida State Prison.
His legal team has filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the state is ignoring compelling evidence of innocence while simultaneously keeping its execution protocols shrouded in secrecy.
Throughout his decades behind bars, Hitchcock’s case has seen his death sentence overturned three separate times due to legal errors, only for the state to secure it again. His current sentence was handed down by a 10-2 jury vote in 1996.
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Hitchcock’s defense centers on his brother, Richard Hitchcock. While James admitted to unlawful sexual conduct at trial, he has always maintained that Richard was the one who killed Driggers. He told jurors his initial confession was a result of being suicidal after days in isolation.
Since that trial, six witnesses have come forward alleging that Richard Hitchcock repeatedly confessed to the murder. According to court filings, Richard told various people that he “murdered that girl in Florida” and “blamed it on my brother.”
These witnesses also described Richard as a violent man who frequently choked or threatened women in his life. However, because these individuals did not speak out until after Richard died in the mid-1990s—citing fear of his retaliation—a judge previously ruled their testimony “not sufficiently credible.” Consequently, no jury has ever heard the evidence regarding Richard’s alleged confessions.
The push for a stay of execution has gained momentum from advocacy groups like Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP), which points to Florida’s record of 30 death row exonerations—the highest in the country.
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“The State of Florida is preparing to execute a man despite credible evidence that another person confessed,” said Grace Hanna, Executive Director of FADP. “When witnesses say they stayed silent out of fear, their responses reflect the reality of trauma and should prompt careful scrutiny, not dismissal. Death is irreversible.”
Herman Lindsey, a Florida death row exoneree and Executive Director of Witness to Innocence, echoed the call for intervention.
“I’m proof that Florida has been wrong before—and executing James Hitchcock risks making that mistake permanent,” Lindsey said.
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