Florida is preparing Thursday to execute an Army veteran convicted in the 1998 shotgun killings of his girlfriend and three young children.
Jeffrey Hutchinson, aged 62, is scheduled to undergo a lethal injection at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. This will mark the fourth execution in the state this year.
Hutchinson has consistently maintained his innocence, alleging that two unidentified individuals carried out the murders as part of a conspiracy orchestrated by the U.S. government to silence him due to his activism on issues concerning Gulf War illnesses and other matters impacting veterans. He served in the Army for eight years, including time as a member of the elite Ranger unit.
Legal documents submitted by Hutchinson’s legal team assert that he is afflicted with Gulf War Illness (GWI), a compilation of health complications linked to the conflict in Iraq from 1990 to 1991. Additionally, they argue that he struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and feelings of paranoia stemming from his belief that he was under government surveillance.
Edward James, 63, was executed in Florida in March for the 1993 murders of 8-year-old Toni Neuner and her grandmother, 58-year-old Betty Dick. (Florida Department of Corrections)
A short time later, a male caller told a 911 operator “I just shot my family” from the house Hutchinson and Flaherty shared with the three children: 9-year-old Geoffrey, 7-year-old Amanda, and 4-year-old Logan. All were killed with a 12-gauge shotgun that was found on a kitchen counter. Hutchinson was located by police in the garage with a phone still connected to the 911 center and gunshot residue on his hands.
At his 2001 trial, Hutchinson based his defense on a claim that two unknown men came to the house, killing Flaherty and the children after he struggled with them. A jury found Hutchinson guilty of four counts of first-degree murder, and he was sentenced to life in prison for Flaherty’s killing and three death sentences for the children.
Last month, a judge rejected an appeal from Hutchinson’s lawyers who were seeking to delay his execution date by claiming Hutchinson is insane and therefore cannot be put to death.
“This Court finds that Jeffrey Hutchinson does not have any current mental illness,” the AP cited Bradford County Circuit Judge James Colaw as saying in his order.
Michael Tanzi was executed in Florida in early April. (Florida Department of Corrections)
So far this year, 14 people have been executed in the U.S., including three in Florida, with Hutchinson to become the fourth. A fifth Florida execution is scheduled for May 15 for Glen Rogers, who was convicted of killing a woman at a motel in 1997.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
