The execution Thursday of James Hitchcock was the sixth so far in Florida this year, a stunning pace that has Florida leading the nation in executions in 2026 of Death Row inmates.
Florida set a new state record in 2025 under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Hitchcock was convicted of the 1976 rape and strangulation murder of his 13-year-old step-niece Cynthia “Cindy” Driggers.
Following the execution, Cindy Driggers’ family members spoke to the media, remembering Cindy and the toll of retrials and decades of waiting for justice. Several thanked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for signing Hitchcock’s death warrant and finally receiving justice after 50 long years and expressed the need for executions to be expedited.
“I grew up watching my mother and her brothers and family endure the weight of this loss,” Tanya Clement said while holding up a framed photo of her aunt Cindy. “The appeals, the retrials, three additional trials. These weren’t just events in a case, they were part of my childhood. I witnessed the emotional toll firsthand, even at a young age, it became a defining part of who I am.”
Florida has put six convicted murderers to death in 2026, with the seventh execution scheduled for May 21 at Florida State Prison near Starke. That’s on top of 19 executions in 2025, far more than the previous state record of eight in 2018 and more than any other state.
DeSantis greatly accelerated the execution pace last year compared to earlier in his term. In 2024, DeSantis signed one death warrant. From 2020 to 2022, Florida didn’t carry out any executions and in 2024, there were six.
Why has Gov. DeSantis pushed for more executions?
In previous news conferences, DeSantis has said he has an “obligation” to carry out executions to provide closure to victims’ families and keep justice from being delayed unnecessarily.
“Any time we go forward, I’m convinced that not only was the verdict correct, but that this punishment is absolutely appropriate under the circumstances,” DeSantis said in May 2025.
Only Texas has carried out more executions in a single year, with 24 in 2009 according to the non-profit Death Penalty Information Center. This year Texas has executed two people, with another scheduled later this month.
How many people are on Florida’s Death Row?
In Florida, there are currently 246 inmates on Death Row, all of them men except for one woman, according to the Department of Corrections.
Florida executions are carried out via a three-drug injection — a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the state Department of Corrections.
Florida executions in 2026
Upcoming executions in Florida in 2026
Curt Anderson is the Policy and Politics Reporter for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY at https://tallahassee.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Florida executions by far lead the nation in the past 16 months
Reporting by Curt Anderson, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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