Just two days after Florida executed two men on the same day for the first time in 62 years, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued his 15th death warrant of the year for Harold Gene Lucas, convicted of the 1976 murder of his 16-year-old girlfriend, Jill Piper, and the attempted murders of her teen friends, Richard Byrd Jr. and Terri Rice.
Barring a successful appeal or request for stay, Lucas, 74, will be the 14th person executed in Florida as DeSantis’ dramatically increased pace continues. Since the beginning of 2025, Florida has executed 31 people. William Silvia, 61, convicted of the 2006 shooting murder of his wife, Patricia, is scheduled to die next, on Aug. 18.
“I don’t take joy in doing that, it’s a weighty thing,” DeSantis said July 28, after the double execution of James Duckett and Dominick Occhicone. “But some of the victims’ families have been waiting a long time and some of them are just like, ‘when are we going to get justice?’ “
Lucas has been on Florida’s death row for nearly 50 years. Only four men have been there longer.
The anti-death penalty organization Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty has started a petition to ask DeSantis to commute Lucas’ sentence to life imprisonment without parole.
Here’s what to know.
When is Harold Gene Lucas scheduled to be executed in Florida?
Lucas is scheduled to be put to death starting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, at Florida State Prison in Raiford, about 40 miles west of Jacksonville.
Who is Harold Gene Lucas?
Lucas, then 24, had known Anthia “Jill” Piper of Bonita Springs, 16, for four years. They dated, but after they argued and she broke up with him, he threatened to kill her, telling a friend he was “going to put that little (expletive) in a hole,” according to court testimony.
Piper feared for her life and asked her friends Rice, then 17, and Byrd, then 19, to stay with her in case there was a confrontation. They were both armed.
On the night of Aug. 13, 1976, Lucas went to Piper’s house armed with a rifle and began shooting at all three people, prosecutors said. Piper was struck immediately as her friends rushed inside, hid in a bedroom, and called law enforcement.
Piper managed to get inside, but Lucas followed and shot her several more times, prosecutors said. Byrd and Rice both survived the shooting.
Lucas said later he couldn’t recall what happened, blaming drugs and alcohol. His attorneys attempted to use that as a defense against premeditation.
Lucas was convicted of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder. A jury unanimously recommended the death penalty.
Lucas’ appeals
Lucas’ original death sentence was vacated on direct appeal in 1982 due to a procedural error, and there were four resentencing proceedings over the next decade, but the Florida Supreme Court affirmed his death sentence in 1992.
Subsequent appeals have failed, and a request for clemency was denied.
C. A. Bridges is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Florida to execute Harold Lucas for the 1976 murder of 16-year-old girl
Reporting by C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
